Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 563: Orbital Escape

Considering that Master Ral was being led around by his apprentice without much explanation, he was taking this quite well. It did fit what Tobias had learned of the Omwati, though. He could be quiet, contemplative, and all the things one expected from a Jedi Master. But at the same time, he could be the amazing warrior that Tobias remembered from his childhood stories. The truly amazing thing was how quickly he could shift between the two.

Moments earlier Master Ral and Tobias had been fighting one Vong warrior after another. Despite everything, those scarred and hideous Yuuzhan Vong seemed to have some kind of code of honour.

Honour.

Honour from a species that was tearing its way through the galaxy, exterminating anything that stood in their way, and even going so far as to ruin the planets they conquered. It was a sign to Tobias that he was, in the end, definitely Alraxian. Yes, lives were lost, but it was the horrific destruction of the planets and twisting of natural life that bothered him the most. For a species that were so similar to Alraxian in their use of biological technology, the Vong took an approach of domination over this rather than the coexistence that the Alraxians lived by.

That sudden series of thoughts came and went in the short span of time that it took Tobias to run from the Kanyak’s hatch to the cockpit, with Master Ral just behind him. They arrived to find it set up almost exactly like Loki’s, though it looked like the control scheme was slightly different. That and the Knight, an Alraxian with short, slightly-greyed black hair and a strong build despite the few lines of age on his face, was not sitting on the right. Apparently, he preferred to pilot from the left chair, which just seemed...odd to Tobias.

“You should sit down,” the Knight’s actual voice wasn’t exactly the same as the one Tobias had gotten used to in his head. It was a bit rougher and sounded strained, which made sense when Tobias looked out the viewport.

The blue tint of Yavin IV’s atmosphere was just fading, giving way to the black of space. Or at least, trying to. The problem was that the black with the orange gas giant, Yavin, and a multitude of ships, some Vong and some very obviously not. And most of them looked to be approaching at blinding speeds.

Master Ral motioned for Tobias to take the seat, and then moved to stand behind his apprentice. With a casual glance over to the Knight, he said in a voice that was far too calm for the situation, “You have my gratitude.”

“No thanks is required,” at that point, Tobias realized that the Knight was speaking Basic. He had a slight accent, though, stressing some syllables that weren’t meant to be stressed in Basic, “My name is Varis. I am Knight in the service of the Empress. It is my duty to protect her and her family.”

“Corentan Ral,” the Omwati Jedi Master replied just as things began to get interesting. Had he been about to ask a question or say something else, Master Ral quickly stopped that.

Everything in the viewport suddenly went sideways as Varis rolled the Kanyak up onto his side. In the same moment, something happened that Tobias should have expected, considering that he’d seen the outside of the Kanyak, but still was a shock. A series of blue beams shot out in short, rapid pulses from both sides of the viewport, hitting a nearby starfighter and destroying it before the pilot could react.

Of course Horus would be armed with Jendari weapons.

Two large, bulky Cloakshape fighters shot past the Kanyak after their wingmate was shot down, but following them was a large flight of Coralskippers, spewing red-orange fire from their nose-mounted cannons. Just before the entire viewport went blurry, Tobias was able to see larger ships converging on their location.

But then they were spinning and weaving and rolling and, apparently, shooting so fast that Tobias couldn’t make sense of it all. He just sat there, claws dug into the chair’s armrests and trying not to bite into his lip as he watched everything spinning in front of him. A few times, the Kanyak jolted, but nothing stopping the insane maneuvering. Well, nothing but Varis and his Kanyak.

Tobias didn’t see Varis adjust the controls to right them, which meant that it was likely the Kanyak doing that. Ship and pilot working together and dividing the work load. With a connection honed over years, it was the closest thing to Alraxian and Kanyak being one creature rather than two.

When the view stopped spinning, they were flying between two metal freighters that were firing across Horus’ nose. Horus dropped under a shot, then twisted to port to avoid another, and just as he spun back to starboard, Varis fired off another series of shots that took out the aft turbolaser cannon on the nearest of the two freighters. With the opening now obvious, Horus spun and dove right through the debris and flame and dropped underneath the damaged ship to use it as cover.

That was about the time that Varis uttered a curse in Alraxian. There was no reason to ask why, as Tobias could clearly see that Horus had turned straight into the sights of at least a half dozen Coralskippers. It was also obvious that there was no real way to outmaneuver them, just either fly through and hope, or turn and present a larger target. Either way, even Tobias could tell that they were about to take some very serious hits.

And then two Coralskippers erupted in flames from a series of blue laser fire. The remaining four skips immediately banked away as if they were one ship. A moment later, a Kanyak that was oddly pocketed with silver sections on its hull, dove straight through where the formation of Vong had been. And Tobias knew exactly who it was. It was hard to recognize Loki, but he could feel Marix in the Force. He was, however, intelligent enough to not bother her. Especially since he saw Varis nod to nothing at all, which likely meant she was already talking with the one person that she needed to.

As Horus banked to starboard and fell into formation right behind Loki in a haphazard course through the various ships firing at them from all directions, Varis spoke over his shoulder, “I have been instructed to plot a course out of here wherever you wish, Master Ral.”

There was no spoken question, but a request still obvious in that sentence. Somehow, the way Varis spoke the word ‘Master’ was all that was needed to ask the question without asking it.

And Master Ral didn’t miss a beat, despite the fact that they had just dropped below a huge, oval-shaped Vong ship that was for some reason not firing down at them, “Will you take us as far as Coruscant?”

Varis still didn’t look away from the view in front of him, obviously seeing that none of the capital ships were firing on them anymore, and only a few starfighters were trailing them, “Ask Horus.”

Before Master Ral could ask what that meant, a grinning voice sounded in their heads. [Towards the Core, eh? Sounds fun...well, if you count not getting shot at fun.]

Knowing the confusion that hearing Horus like that would cause, Tobias turned away from something he should have been asking about to explain, “That’s Horus...the ship.”

The Jedi Master nodded, but he turned his attention to something that was much more important, “Why aren’t they shooting at us anymore?”

Though Varis didn’t turn his head, Tobias saw the Knight’s eyes shift just slightly, “The Empress says that she brought a friend...”

Now that it was obvious that the two Kanyaks were safe, both ships banked away from Yavin and began a quick dash out of system. But in the turn to do so, something else could be seen in the viewport. In the distance was a large, red wedge that was spewing a constant stream of green turbolaser fire. Bursts of fire could be seen as ships were taken down by the Star Destoyer’s blasts, and it looked as if the entire Vong and Peace Brigade fleets were converging on the ship. But that didn’t look like it was going to matter. None of the ships, even the Vong ships, looked to be much larger than heavy freighters, and though they were a danger to a small ship like a Kanyak, a true warship like Marix’s ‘friend’ would be just fine.

And then it was gone from view, and all Tobias could see was Loki’s engines, one of them slightly dimmed for some reason. They had made it. They were safe. And it looked like anyone left back on the moon would soon be safe, too.

[Take care of yourself, little guy.] Marix’s voice in his head was a shock. Not just because of how soft it felt to him, but because of what she’d called him.

For a moment, he just sat there, staring blankly out at Loki’s aft and trying to figure out what had happened. Then, deciding that it was, in fact, Marix, he sent a careful message back. [Thanks...] he stopped himself, thought about it, then decided he didn’t care and tried again. [Thanks, mom.]

At first, Tobias didn’t think she was going to say anything back. She usually scowled at him when he called her that, not really because she disliked him, but something about that word always made her uneasy. Tobias wasn’t an idiot, he could see that. But then he heard Marix’s voice on more time. [You know you don’t have to thank me.]

And right on cue, Loki disappeared, making the jump to hyperspace.

Horus then banked to port slightly and slowed a bit before Varies reached over to his side and hit a series of small buttons. When he was finished, the stars began to elongate before Horus jolted forward into hyperspace.

There was a short minute in which all three of them simply let the adrenaline fade, and then it was Master Ral who broke the silence, “I think its time you start explaining this, Tobias.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 564: Language Barriers

Once she was sure that Loki was going to handle hyperspace alright, Marix pulled herself out of the pilot’s chair and headed back to her quarters. She’d set a course for the Gateway, and with Loki’s hyperdrive not functioning at full power, the trip was going to take at least a standard day despite the relatively short distance. But that was alright. Importantly, Loki was stable, though still unconscious. His body was recovering slowly, though, according to the readouts she’d checked just after making the jump to hyperspace.

Not only that, but Tobias was okay. No, he was more than okay. According to Varis, the kid had actually contacted him for help. This would not normally have been a feat, as Tobias did have the means to communicate with the Gateway, but Varis had not been at the Gateway. According to his swift report during the short few moments they were in contact, Varis had been doing work on an interesting side project that Jyren had cooked up years earlier.

Jyren had taken an interest in Alraxia’s connection to the ancient Jedi Order of the Old Republic, using the archives in the temples scattered across Alraxia and even a few other planets in the Empire to track down other artifacts of the old order. He was, of course, looking for a connection to his mother beyond that holocron he never let go of, but it wasn’t something Marix would argue with him about. It was a good cause. And, according to Varis, many of the Knights and former Tam’Day’U had taken a great interest in it, too. He had been tracking down an ancient planet that was not on any charts at all, Alraxian, Jendari, or Republic, but was mentioned several times in some of the temple records. It was called Rhen Var, and apparently had been a place that a fallen Jedi Knight thousands of years earlier had exiled himself to.

But Varis never found the planet. On a stop in deep space to check his coordinates and attempt another dangerous, blind jump into uncharted space, he had felt the presence of Tobias. Then the boy had actually communicated with him over a distance of light years. Tobias had done that with no training. While it was a skill that some Tam’Day’U had been taught years ago, it was one few could manage. Even Marix hadn’t been able to.

And Tobias had done it. He’d called for help, then, according to Varis, been the one leading the way in front of his own Jedi Master to the ship after the two of them had battling with a group of Yuuzhan Vong warriors. From her short conversation with Tobias, which was more a series of words than an actual conversation, she could tell he was already different than when he’d left. It wasn’t the words that told her, but the emotions that escaped with them. Tobias was much more grounded in reality than he had been, and though he was definitely still learning, seemed to be understanding much more about the way things worked. Marix’s only worry about that kid was that his constant idolizing of Jyren would mean Tobias would grow up to be just as reckless, impulsive, and every bit as unable to use his brain as Jyren had been. No, that wasn’t fair. It was more that Jyren’s place of judgement and decision making was in his heart and his emotions, not his mind. It was a noble thing, yes, but both dangerous and, in the end, something that Tobias didn’t need to default to.

Now Marix had seen him shifting away from that.

That was the one piece of good news in what seemed like an eternity, and it was extremely welcome.

Entering her quarters, Marix moved to the small washroom. As quickly as she could, Marix got a hold of some cleangel and wiped Loki’s blood off of her face and hands. The rest of her could wait. With that done, she exited the washroom, and walked over to the opposite side of the quarters to a small pile of clothes at the side of the bed. They had been lying there for a long time, but thinking about that Vong she was about to have a talk with brought up an interesting thought about the pile. Digging through it a moment, Marix retrieved a jacket. It was Jyren’s, that damned brown piece of junk that was impossibly comfortable despite how it looked. The last time she had worn it, Marix had come across an interesting item, which she hoped was still in the inside pocket.

When she put her hand into the pocket, she found it. That small, worm-thing that had been in a Rodian’s ear for some reason. Marix inspected it, noticed it was still moving, and wondered how it was actually alive. It had to eat, didn’t it? Even Loki got nutrition, though it was a complicated process that Marix didn’t even completely understand. Maybe it could just survive for long periods of time without food? More to the point, what was it? It had been in that Rodian’s ear, but it hadn’t caused any actual damage. It wasn’t a weapon, then. It didn’t seem to be any kind of controlling device as she had seen other humanoids with pieces of...coral or something similar implanted in them that looked to serve that purpose. There had to be a use for it.

Keeping it in her hand, Marix got to her feet and left her quarters. It only took a few steps to reach the sealed door to the room where she’d thrown that Vong into. She stood in front of the door for a short time, thinking. The Vong hadn’t been tied up and the room, while generally empty, might have provided him with makeshift weapons if he was smart enough. After moving the small worm-thing into her off hand, Marix hit the switch to open the door and prepared for an immediate attack.

When the door irised opened, she was not met with a weapon or a fist or a leg or anything else meant to kill her. Immediately taking in the room, Marix noted the Yuuzhan Vong sitting against the back wall next to a small table that was actually part of Loki’s interior. To her surprise, the Vong did not bolt up to kill her, but simply snarled a curse in his native language. Or at least, she figured it was a curse. But beyond that, he didn’t move.

“No more fight in you, I see,” Marix spoke aloud while she stepped into the room and then made sure the door was good and closed behind her.

The Vong replied with a sharp series of guttural words.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she kept in mind many of those old interrogation techniques taught to her years ago. Marix made sure to look down at him, stand tall, and show through the way she stood that if he tried anything she wouldn’t be afraid to snap his neck. Not that the last of those would scare a Vong, from what Marix understood. Still, it was important. It was time for that time honoured and arduous task of learning the enemy’s language. In previous instances, Marix had the Force to assist with that...but since the Force was telling her there was no on else in the room with her, that was definitely not an option.

“What is your name, Vong?”

The deep-set eyes that were beneath a large, single scar across the Vong’s forehead, regarded her carefully. Eventually, he spoke again, “Nikk pryozz Qroal Fath.”

That caused a slight pause in Marix’s thoughts. It was clearly a response. She had no idea what he’d said, but the way he’d responded was just too perfect, especially when he just stopped and then stared at her, as if waiting for her to ask something else.

Marix’s eyes narrowed, not liking this, “You understand Basic.”

The Vong tilted his head in what very well could have been a nod, “Dwi.”

Yes...?

Unless a nod meant something else to the Vong, which was entirely possible. Marix had encountered at least one species that found such an action to be extremely offensive. Something about showing the top of one’s head...

But no, he had stopped again. Waited for her to speak again. He did understand Basic. But he didn’t speak it. That wasn’t all too uncommon, but it bothered her. It bothered her enough to ask another simple question, “How?”

Or rather, a simple question if she could understand the Vong language. But before saying anything, he tilted his head and reached into his ear with a long-fingered hand that was also covered in an odd, jagged green tattoo. Marix was already beginning to connect dots in her mind, and so wasn’t surprised when he removed a small worm just like the one she was holding, then said, “Tizowyrm.”

There was no surefire way to know this wasn’t some trick. However, Marix had not heard of many Vong being anything but straightforward. Still, something was wrong here. Something was bothering her. He was being too forthcoming, even if she didn’t understand him. Why the hell wasn’t he trying to get free?!

Working on the hunch that she was starting to understand how he understood her, though, Marix waited for the Vong to put the worm back into his ear before asking, “That thing translates languages?”

“Dwi,” the same word with the same nod.

Marix raised her hand and opened her palm to look at the one she held. It was dangerous. It was stupid. But...she could morph. If it was an attack or a deception, she could morph around the thing and get it out of her body before it did any damage. Hopefully. Maybe.

After a deep breath and readying herself for a horrible feeling, Marix carefully reached up to put the worm thing into her own ear. There were a few horrible moments where she felt the thing shifting and moving before it finally stopped.

When it stopped, the Vong spoke again, “I am Qroal of Domain Fath.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 565: Voices

Rea sat in the small, natural shelter carefully watching the three injured members of Zephyr Squadron. There wasn’t really anything she could do, which was impossibly frustrating. They were all stable, but unconscious. In Commodore Nok’s case, drifting in and out of consciousness every so often to look around confused, groan, then drift off again. That was more worrying to her.

It sure as hell didn’t help that Adria had run off. How a woman like that was able to pass any entrance examinations into a military organization was completely beyond Rea. Sure, Adria was a good pilot, but she wasn’t so amazingly talented that it would make up for her attitude towards those ever important things called ‘orders’. Questioning orders, out loud at least, was bad enough in critical moments...but outright disobeying them?

Okay, so technically Adria hadn’t disobeyed a single order by wandering off to check on that signal. She had, however, abandoned her commanding officer and two other injured squad mates and left a single guard with them in what was very definitely hostile territory. And Adria had gone alone. That, right there, was the real sticking point for Rea.

With a quiet sigh, her lekku twitched slightly. Rea was tired, annoyed, exhausted, tired, and annoyed. It had been nearly an hour since Adria had gone, and the Twi’lek had heard various sounds overhead that were in no way comforting. She didn’t have to look outside to see the Vong ships flying overhead, though it did seem strange. For the longest time, they hadn’t seen a single ship over this grassy field...but in the last twenty-odd minutes, Rea was hearing them fairly consistently. That and...

Were those voices?

Eyes darting to the opening in the makeshift shelter, Rea saw nothing beyond the meter high, red grass. Yet, she could still hear voices out there, even if they were quiet. Had the Vong found her? Or was it Adria? But why would she be talking? And wouldn’t she be smart enough to keep her mouth shut, or at least her voice low, on a moon like this?!

Tightening her grip on her blaster pistol, Rea quickly ran through what she could do. Should she have a look? It wasn’t as if she was too terribly tall. Ducking down, Rea could stay hidden in the grass. Well, slightly hidden. She was still in that black tunic that was normally worn beneath the orange jumpsuit that she had removed after they’d found this shelter. Not only that, but Rea still had on her black gloves and boots, which meant that in the grass, she would be a black and blue object within the red grass. Not exactly stealth. But still, if Rea stayed within the cramped shelter and it wasn’t Adria, she’d be dead in a second. There was no room to fight in this thing...

After a short look over the three other Zephyrs, Rea knelt down and exited the shelter. Keeping her head down below the top of the grass as best she could, her eyes scanned the area. A few steps away from the rock-shelter and she could hear the voices more clearly. They were harsh, hissing, and definitely not human. But at the same time, they didn’t sound like they were Yuuzhan Vong.

There!

In the grass, a few meters away, Rea could see movement. Amongst the red was an odd, brownish-grey. And that was where the voices were coming from. Figures in the grass...moving towards her but not directly. Which meant that probably didn’t see her...

“Zhurae sos,” she could make out the words now, though Rea had no idea what was being said. It wasn’t like any language she’d ever heard. Admittedly, however, that didn’t mean much in a galaxy with so many languages.

But then the movement stopped and the voices went silent.

Rea froze, worried that she had been spotted.

Silence.

“Qol e’a si!” the words were yelled, and then Rea heard it repeated at least five times, though probably more. And then the movement started again, but this time directly towards her. And they were coming fast, running without a doubt.

Without even thinking, Rea raised her blaster and squeezed off a quick shot. The red of energy cut through the grass and then hit the nearest of the moving figures, getting a grunt out of it before a thud as it hit the ground. But there were still more coming, and looking forward just seemed to show a wall of brown-greys coming through the red right for her!

Run.

Just run!

But Rea fought that instinct, immediately understanding that she had to lead these whatever-they-weres away from her three injured squad mates. She needed to lose these things and then sneak back so that the Commodore and the others weren’t left unprotected for too long!

Firing off a series of shots blindly, the Twi’lek spun around and started to run straight past the shelter. Blaster still aimed behind her, Rea made sure to look over her shoulder and continue firing. But with every one of the things she managed to drop, there seemed to still be more coming for her...and fast. She could make out leathery looking skin hidden under some kind of armour now.

Realizing just how fast they were gaining on her, Rea decided to stop distracting herself by firing behind her and just run as fast as she could. She had to lose these damned things! They sure as hell weren’t Vong, either! Vong were larger, bigger, and would have killed her by now. Of course, the second that thought came to mind, Rea heard a loud growl behind her.

Instinctively, she looked over her shoulder and it was just in time to see a reptilian creature that looked a bit like a smaller, somewhat stockier Trandoshan holding a small dagger dive right at her. The creature landed on her back, driving her face first into the ground. A sharp, dizzying pain shot through one of her lekku as claws dug into the sensitive appendage. Panicked suddenly, Rea rolled to her side in an attempt to throw the creature off of her before it drove that knife right into her back.

Amazing, it worked and the thing was flung to the side. Rea immediately kicked at it, causing a satisfying cry of pain from the creature as her boot connected with its lower abdomen. Then, as she frantically got back to her feet, knowing that there were more than just this one creature after her, Rea fired a pair of shots right at point blank range into it.

But she didn’t run again, for some reason. Instead, Rea spun around to see another of the reptilian creatures charging at her, odd-shaped knife at the ready. Just before she fired a blaster bolt into its skull, she noticed something else odd about them. Their reptilian skulls each had two large, protruding dome-like things towards the back that looked more like rock than anything natural. They weren’t even the right colour when compared with the grey-brown flesh. But there wasn’t time to think about it, as she’d already pulled the trigger and the shot had easily connected with the creature’s face, sending it down to the ground with a smoking black scorch mark on its skull.

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned to her left, blaster at the ready again. But when the next of the reptilian creatures pounced at her through the grass, it was actually intelligent enough to anticipate her attack. When she fired, it was already bounding to its side, then using powerful legs to pounce at her. Rea ducked and rolled away, coming up to her feet again just as the thing started to come at her again.

And then Rea felt a sharp pain across her back. She stumbled forward and cried out, slamming right into the reptilian in front of her. It seemed just as surprised by this as Rea was, which was likely why she didn’t fall into the blade it was holding. When Rea landed on top of the creature, she reacted by driving her knee hard into its stomach then rolling away to see her second attacker.

The problem with that was that her back came into contact with the ground, getting another jolt of pain to run through her body. But adrenaline was pumping now, and the other reptilian, the one that had snuck up behind her, was about to pounce and drive its blade right into her. Rea’s leg came up and she caught the creature in its chest. For a short moment, she just held it above her, scrambling to aim her blaster and just shoot it. But then she saw the creature about to slice her ankle.

Before the blade could connect, however, Rea kicked the creature back. It fell back and hit the ground on its back, leaving Rea a moment’s breath. Or at least, it would have given her a moment to breath if there wasn’t another right next to her still. The other reptilian was holding its dagger in a reverse grip and, rather than getting up off the ground, simply swinging it down to drive into her face. Rea rolled away again, ignoring the pain in her back and firing a volley of blaster bolts into the thing the second her blaster was out from under her again.

An angry snarl escaped from the last of the creatures that had gotten back to its feet and was coming back to pounce at her again. Rea doubted the same strategy would work, despite the fact that these things didn’t seem to be terribly intelligent. Beside, it was easier to just fill it will blaster bolts before it reached her.

When the sound of her blaster firing disappeared and the last of them hit the ground, all the was left around her was the smell of ozone. Slowly, Rea sat up. She couldn’t help a groan at the pain in her back. The cut hadn’t gone deep enough to paralyze her, at least. But she needed to get that patched up quickly so she’d didn’t bleed to death...

She could hear voices again. Quickly getting her bearings, Rea realized the sounds were coming from the direction of the shelter, which she currently couldn’t see through the thick grass. Dammit all, this day wouldn’t ever end!

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 566: Suspicion

Horus was only slightly smaller than Loki. It was mainly due to the fact that he was rarely involved in the transport of anyone at all beyond his constant companion and pilot, Varis. Beyond the cockpit, there was a single quarters for Varis, a small mess area that doubled as a living quarters, and a cargo hold that wasn’t much bigger than Varis’ quarters. Everything else was left to internal organs and other vital systems, sealed off and safely protected.

Varis had provided some simple foods for Tobias and Master Ral as they sat at the small table in the mess. Of course, the food wasn’t the most wonderful tasting stuff, but it was better than starving. And it wasn’t rations, either. Just stored meats and vegetables that weren’t so much cooked as re-heated. The upside, though, was that they were all from Alraxia, and Tobias felt like he was back at home. Well, sort of. Home wasn’t so cramped.

Sitting across from Tobias was Master Ral, eating the food without commenting on it at all. Besides, Tobias was the one currently being interrogated, “I’m not sure what happened. I just...kind of...well, I don’t know. I reached out with the Force and kept reaching until I found something familiar.”

The Jedi Master nodded, accepting this without showing any question at all. Varis, though, glanced between the two of them before settling his gaze on Tobias, “That is all you did?”

Tobias’ face twisted into confusion as he turned to look at the other Alraxian. It was surprisingly easy to see a look of concern in Varis’ eyes, though the rest of his angular face showed none of it. Even the Force was calm around him. Very slowly, Tobias nodded and said quietly, “Um...yes.”

“Is something wrong?” Master Ral was able to somehow detect the same that Tobias did just by the tone of voice. Or maybe he sensed something. It sure as hell couldn’t have been from his eyes, as Master Ral was currently given a clear view of the back of Varis’ head.

Sitting back again and glancing to the Omwati at his other side, Varis said simply, “I was nearly three sectors away from here. The only reason I was able to arrive so quickly was due to a well-charter hyperspace route that led here.”

While Tobias was suddenly left with his mouth open, realizing what had just been said, Master Ral was not so openly surprised. His eyes shifted to his apprentice for a moment before looking back to Varis, “Where, exactly, were you?”

Then something odd happened.

The Knight did not immediately respond. Instead, he turned to Tobias. [Years ago, your father asked some of the Knights to assist him with his research into the ancient Jedi. I was searching for a planet mentioned in the archives that is on no charts but is mentioned several times in the records of the temples on Alraxia.]

The shock from before had suddenly faded at the serious tone that Tobias was presented with. As usual, he wasn’t actually asked a question. Rather, a situation was put before him, with a short background that would give just enough understanding, and then Tobias was stared at. He was expected to respond. But, like many similar situations he found himself in, this was something new. Tobias had known about Jyren’s interest in the Jedi Temples on Alraxia, but had no idea that there were actual Knights helping him. Knights actually going out into the rest of the galaxy following up leads to track down..something. Or nothing, maybe. That was another thing Tobias didn’t really understand. But that didn’t matter.

[You can trust him.] Tobias hoped he answered the right question.

With that, Varis gave the slightest of nods before turning back to Master Ral, “Horus and I were in orbit around Ossus.”

Though not unnerved by the silence that had been presented to him when Varis spoke with Tobias through the Network, Master Ral react to that. His eyes widened a moment and the Force around him nearly flared up with surprise. Both were quickly pushed away, though the Jedi Master’s voice retained his surprise at this new information, “Ossus is more than three sectors from Yavin. The fact that Tobias could find you so many lightyears away is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. In fact, that is something that I need to know to continue training this young man. Why, then, would you not tell me this immediately?”

This time, Varis bowed his head in a motion of apology, “You must forgive the deception. From what little I have seen, you are the perfect teacher for Tobias. His father would have been very proud of that. I would never do anything to hinder his training, but there are precautions I must take to protect myself and my people.”

Tobias couldn’t help but find himself slightly worried by the look that Master Ral turned his direction. But the Jedi Master continued to speak to the Knight, despite his attention on Tobias, “Forgive my suspicion, but you are doing nothing to alleviate it. You are part of a species of shapeshifters I have known nothing of before I met my apprentice. I know very well that you are very protective of your identities, and I have found no information at all with regard to where your people even come from. In fact, it seems to me that hiding that is of the upmost importance to your people. Now, I owe my life and the life of my apprentice to another of this mysterious species, but it comes with something else to arouse concern,” now, the blue-skinned Omwati turned to face Varis again, “Ossus is a dead world. It has been that way for thousands of years. There is nothing there but ruins and pain. I have seen it myself. In fact, the only people I have ever known that even know of that planet are other Jedi. And even then, they are Jedi that have spent a great deal of time learning about history. So do you understand why all of this information together would concern me?”

“While you do not understand why anyone else would have interest in that world, you connect pieces of information together and fear another invasion,” it was shocking how plainly Varis said that. But a moment later, he shook his head, “Our people value our secrecy because it is our only defense. If we were planning to act against your Republic, you and I would not be having this conversation and you would not be training the son of the Empress.”

It didn’t seem like Master Ral to have such an extreme concern, nor did it fit what Tobias knew for the Jedi Master to be so suspicious. But, taking a moment to think about it, it was hard to blame him. Tobias had said some things, yes, but he just naturally remained silent on as much as possible. It had just been ingrained in him to not talk about Alraxia while he was in the larger part of the galaxy.

But it seemed that Master Ral had returned to his normal self. His face was as calm as his voice, which returned to that sing-song-like quality that didn’t really mesh with how somber he always sounded, “I understand the desire for isolation. My own people still rarely leave Omwat for fear of how we will be treated. No, I do not believe your people wish any harm on the rest of the galaxy. In fact, I have only seen evidence to the contrary. I am still concerned, however, as to why you would be at Ossus.”

Again, Varis did not miss a beat and responded immediately, as if speaking to a superior officer, “There is a planet that should be near Ossus that has disappeared from every chart I have seen. This planet has been mentioned in several archives that were of importance to Tobias’ father. Horus and I were attempting to find this lost planet. Our interest in that world is nothing more than the desire for information.”

“You still hold back and keep the planet’s name to yourself,” a smile actually formed on Master Ral’s face, though, and he raised a hand to silence any response to that, “I do not wish it to appear I am not grateful for your assistance. You have said enough, and I thank you for it...but after all that we have been through, I believe it is time for some well-earned rest.”

“Of course,” Varis stood up to lead the way to the single quarters that was actually his, though he wasn’t about to sleep. Besides, he was more comfortable in the cockpit. As the other two stood up with him, both finally beginning to allow themselves to feel just how exhausted they were, Varis added with a glance to Tobias, “Despite what you may think, your father would be very proud of you. I am certain that he always wanted to see you follow this path and be a Jedi, even if he would never say it. You wear that weapon well.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 567: One Word

Marix stared down at the Yuuzhan Vong calling himself Qroal, her mind trying to process far too much at once. Caution kept a good two meters between where she stood and where he still sat against the wall, having not made any attempt to even get to his feet. That concerned her, as it was unlike anything she’d seen from the Vong before, but it was impossible to miss the fact that both of his hands were in her view the entire time. It was as if he was trying to prove to her that he was not a threat. But that caused Marix’s senses to be on even higher alert...just in case.

While this need to be alert too up most of her attention, what was left did its best to quickly catch herself up with how the situation was changing. This Vong was different, there was no doubt about that. So how, exactly, was that? He spoke to her, for one. That was initially the most important of the differences, along with the fact that Qroal had gone to at least some length to bridge an understanding, linguistically, between them. Which meant he wanted to talk. Not fight. Or at least talk until he could fight, which was much more likely to Marix.

But then her eyes looked him over with much more care than before. Instead of seeing just another Yuuzhan Vong, Marix really looked at him. Even though Qroal was sitting, she could tell he wasn’t as tall as most of the Vong she’d encountered. He also didn’t look to be as strongly built, though he still looked to be able to put up a fight. The lack of armour he wore was something Marix attributed to his previous captivity, and so disregarded that. But that did mean he was in clothes that looked almost like rags that showed much of his almost-grey skin, which said something else. There were tattoos and scars on him like with every other Vong she had seen, but not as many. In fact, even the scars weren’t as disfiguring. His face only had one, horizontally across his brow that was linked by an odd, pointed tattoo on the left side of his face before thin, black hair covered the rest of Qroal’s skull. Overall, he looked remarkably...average. Not average Vong, from what Marix knew, but just average. Nothing special, nothing amazing, just a person.

That was almost as worrying to Marix as the fact that he’d made no move to kill her.

At a loss for how to proceed, her natural proclivity to simply be direct took over, “Is there are a particular reason you haven’t tried to kill me yet?”

The scar over Qroal’s eyes formed an odd v-shape as his eyes narrowed slightly. Marix couldn’t figure out if he was looking closely, thinking, or about to pounce. But when he replied, the Vong’s voice displayed no malice at all, though it might have been due to the thing in her ear, “Is there a reason you have not killed me?”

He had a very good point. Why hadn’t she...wait! Wait wait wait. What had he just said? It was almost as if he had expectations of her, which didn’t make sense at all.

Marix’s eyes narrowed and scanned him for any kind of tensing of the muscles that might indicate he was preparing for something. But she saw no change at all beyond that scar on his head. Nonetheless, she readied continue to keep her distance and adopted a stance that showed she was very ready for anything, “Why would I kill you?”

The Vong inclined his head slightly, a move that almost made Marix pounce at him claws first, “Why would you not? What am I but dead weight that you must worry about stabbing you in the back every moment I still live?”

“You...” a thought started, but Marix’s mind didn’t finish it. She had to pause a moment and really consider that question. Why was he still alive? What use was he? An answer, thankfully, quickly came to mind. The reason she’d dragged him out of that cell in the first place, “You are the first chance I’ve had at information about your people. If I kill you, I leave myself in the dark. But I leave you alive, and I learn everything I need to know about how to protect my people from yours.”

Qroal actually laughed at that, though it almost sounded more like some dying creature coughing than a laugh. But then again, what response had Marix expected to that? The response she’d expected actually came after he finished laughing, “And why do you think I’d tell you anything?”

Why did she think he’d tell him anything?

Another good question. Again, she took time to quickly run through that. Marix was not one to second guess herself, but it had been such a snap decision to take this Vong with her that there hadn’t really been time to go over all of it. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Marix had worked it out. Now she was finally bringing those to the forefront, “You are the only Vong I have seen captured. I may not know much about your people just yet, but you’re small and the only time you tried to fight was a weak attempt at escape when I dragged you out of that cell you were in. The fact that you aren’t dead right now means that, for whatever reason, you won’t take your own life. So perhaps you want to live. You obviously don’t want that known, but it is not hard to see that you value your life more than any Vong I have ever seen.”

An angry sneer crossed Qroal’s face, proof that Marix was reading the situation correctly. When he did not respond beyond that, she added, “And that right there is proof to me that you are no warrior. You just sit and scowl at me because I’ve figured out more than you think I should be able to. But I’m not stupid. I may not know much about your people, but I do know that I’ve never seen one willing to talk. You won’t even threaten me! Are you actually afraid of me, Vong? Cowering against a wall on the other side of the room, pressed against it like an animal, and you barely manage a growl back at me.”

“We are more than just brutish warriors!” Qroal finally did manage to growl back, though it was weak. Tobias sounded angrier when he was younger and was told ‘no’. But Qroal was damn well trying, that much was obvious on his face, “The only reason you get nothing out of them is they are insane! They would tread into death when it is not even necessary! But I can endure torture as much as any of those fools! If you think I would tell you any more than I told that slug, you are as stupid as the warriors!”

In her head, Marix smiled. He’d just told her information without meaning to. This was going to be too easy. Of course, she kept the smile off of her face. Marix was not about to show a single hint of emotion to this Vong, lest he find a way to turn it against her as she was doing to him. What she did do, however, was relax her tensed muscles. It was time to show Qroal that her words were not just words. She wasn’t even worried anymore.

Just in case, though, she decided to make an important point understood to him, “Your warriors might be mindless brutes, but not among my people. If you think you can talk your way into an escape, go right ahead and waste your time. If you want to get on those feet of your and try to fight your way out, again, you may waste your time. Either way, you will fail and still be right here. You don’t fear pain? Somehow I don’t believe that. I think you want me to believe you’re as strong as your warriors, but your actions speak differently. So, Qroal, how about you stop playing these games and trying to be something you’re obviously not, and start answering some very important questions.”

Just as she finished speaking, Marix got a surprise. In a surprisingly swift motion, Qroal was suddenly on his feet and charging right at her. Something was in his right hand, but the movement was too fast and she couldn’t see what. Not that it mattered. Though Marix had relaxed, it was not hard for her to take one step to her right, grab Qroal’s wrist in both her hands, and then break the bone with a strong pull in just the right way. The snap was drowned out by the Vong’s cry of pain, which reminded Marix of the roar of a small dragon back on Alraxia.

Her eyes saw a small object drop to the floor. Seeing that, Marix threw Qroal back to the wall he’d charged off of. The Vong stumbled back clutching his injured hand, hit the wall, and then finally slid back down to where he’d been before. Marix then noted an interesting trail of black blood that followed the exact path that Qroal had taken to and then away from her. Still standing there, her eyes darted down to the object on the floor. It was long, slender, and covered in the same black blood.

A weapon hidden beneath the skin.

“Thank you for proving my point,” Marix spoke calmly as if nothing had happened, her eyes finally turning back to the Vong who was not acting like any Vong she’d ever seen, “Now that we are past that...are you ready to answer my questions?”

“That Hutt locked me away because I killed seven of his men that tried to interrogate me,” Qroal’s voice sounded pained, but at least he seemed to be trying to hold that back, “Do not think I will not kill you, too, Alraxian.”

One word had a way of changing everything.

This Vong might not have been a warrior, but he damn well wasn’t an interrogator, either. He talked too much and gave into his emotion too easily. Not that Marix was complaining, though that single word completely changed what she wanted to know from Qroal. It was suddenly very obvious he knew important things...or at least, things that were of the upmost importance to her.

For the first time struggling to keep her voice level and the emotion off of her face, Marix spoke very slowly, “How do you know what I am?”

Qroal just sneered at her.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 568: No One Stays Dead

Rea approached the shelter where she had left her three injured squad mates as quietly as she could manage. The cut across her back still ached, but for the moment she ignored it. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but worry about the wound getting infected, though. There was, however, a much more pressing concern beyond her bruises and small injuries that she’d received at the hands of a few reptilian creatures.

Barely a minute after she had started to catch her breath after the fight, Rea had heard sounds back towards the very place she was trying to lead the enemy away from. It had been voices, she was sure of it. Now, however, she heard nothing at all.

Staying low beneath the meter-high red grass, the Twi’lek’s eyes very carefully looked ahead, trying to find any source of movement. She was down on her haunches, blaster pistol in hand and at the ready, and very cautious about moving any closer. Looking up, she could see the tops of the stones that formed the shelter where the Commodore and two other unconscious members of Zephyr Squadron had been left. If she stepped any closer, the grass would grow shorter and thinner, and she could be spotted.

But she didn’t hear anything anymore...and certainly didn’t...

Wait.

There.

As slowly as she could, so that her lekku didn’t make too much noise brushing against the tall blades of grass around her, Rea turned her head slightly to her left to the flash of colour she’d seen. Rea couldn’t determine how far away it was, but she could distinctly see a tint of brown within the red. And it was moving...slowly, but definitely moving towards the shelter. And there, near it...black. And then grey. Wait...another...not right with the others and actually very close to her. It wasn’t moving, and looked to be black with reddish...it was figure. Humanoid, but that was all Rea could tell.

Well, that and they were all starting to move towards the shelter.

Knowing she couldn’t just sit there while more of those creatures, or worse, actual Yuuzhan Vong, Rea decided to act while she had the element of surprise. As silently as she could, Rea took in a long, deep breath and then let it out. She was ready for this. Sure, she was pilot, but she could do this...

In one quick movement, Rea was on her feet, pushing herself up to a standing position and raising her blaster at the same time. It only took two small steps before she planted her feet and aimed the weapon right at the head of the first of the enemies, which ended up being just a half meter away from the end of her weapon’s barrel and...

“L...Loro...?” Rea had nearly squeeze the trigger and fired a shot off by the time her eyes relayed the information of what they were seeing to her brain.

Standing there, pointing a blaster rifle at her torso, was a Mon Calamari that she had no trouble identifying at all. Some would say that, beyond skin colour, all Mon Calamari looked alike. But Rea knew Obrack Loro, though she couldn’t say exactly how. She just knew that despite what she had previously thought, the two large, circular eyes looking right back at her were those of her friend she’d thought dead.

When he lowered his blaster rifle and then spoke, it only confirmed that, “Its good to see you, too.”

Rea was too busy staring in shock to notice Adria and two other humans step in from the grass. She just stood there, finger still on the blaster’s trigger for some reason, her hands shaking very slightly as her mind tried to grasp the reality it was being presented with. A reality that shouldn’t have been possible. Opening her mouth, Rea attempted to reconcile this problem, “But you...I thought you were dead.”

Loro’s eyes turned down slightly to look at the blaster still being aimed at his head, “I managed to eject. The Vong picked me up and then I wound up here. I can give you the detailed version later, but we probably shouldn’t stay here for much longer.”

“Its really him, Rea,” Adria spoke slowly and carefully. She then decided to add an important request, “Come on, put the blaster down.”

Hearing that seemed to trigger a realization in Rea’s mind. She jumped very slightly then looked at the blaster in her hands as if she hadn’t noticed it. Suddenly understanding, she lowered the weapon and let out a loud, sigh of relief before saying quietly, “I’m sorry for that. Just...some things got the jump on me and I thought you were more of them. Or worse.”

“That is why we are here,” Loro nodded his head and finally put on a smile, which was always an interesting sight on a Mon Calamari, but comforting nonetheless, “We have an actual house not far from here that’s much safer than this ancient rock formation.”

That was good news, for once. After a casual glance to the two humans that she didn’t recognize, Rea moved to the shelter and began to figure out how to move the three pilots. Over her shoulder, she said, “The Commodore’s unconscious again. Haven’t heard a word out of the others since you left, Adria. We really need an actual medic for them.”

“You need one, too,” Adria’s voice was close, and after she spoke the human woman was next to Rea, helping her move the stretchers out to the others. It seemed that the less questions were asked about who people were, the sooner they could get to an apparent safety. Rea wasn’t one to complain.

In that same vein of thought, as she activated the repulsors on the Commodore’s stretcher to move him out, Rea said simply, “I’ll be fine. Its not deep.”

“But its bleeding still,” the red-haired human countered easily as she helped to move the stretcher out to the others, who were both helping them move the stretchers and, from the looks of it, watching the perimeter. But Adria didn’t really pay that much attention, “At least let me get you a bandage.”

But Rea shook her head, “I doubt we have the time to waste. With one group of creatures finding this place, I’d be willing to be there are more nearby.”

“There are more,” that was not a voice Rea recognized. She had to look up to see that it was the older of the other two humans that had spoken. He was facing the other direction, though, and so she couldn’t get a read on his face at all, just the back of his head. But before she could tense up and ready for another attack, he quickly added, “A Vong ship just took off about a half click south of us. Looks like a transport type, too. We should have friends coming soon.”

“Big friends?” Loro’s cryptic statement didn’t make any sense to Rea, though she could detect worry in his gravely voice.

The older human looked over his shoulder to the rest of them, a weary look on his aged features, “At least one knowing our luck. But probably a handful of Chazrach along with them. We need to get moving.”

In a matter of moments, Rea, the older human who’s name she still didn’t bother asking, and Adria were all holding onto a separate stretcher. The younger human, who had remained silent but continued to give Rea sideways looks that were unnerving her, followed behind them, with Loro taking the front and leading the way.

As they began to move at a brisk pace, Rea decided to ask an important question, “Chazrach?”

Though she’d been looked at the older human next to her, it was Loro who spoke back at her, “Like small Trandoshan. Not much for fighting but the Vong like to just throw them at us every so often. Some kind of slave race.”

Ah. So that’s what they were called. Now, at least, Rea knew what those things were that had attacked her. Well, truthfully, she knew before. They were small, badly trained, reptilian, things. Now she could just think ‘Chazrach’ instead, which definitely made things a bit simpler.

That was the moment an alien sounding roar reached them. All of them stopped a moment to look behind. Thankfully, they saw nothing. Or maybe that made it worse.

Putting two and two together, Rea broke the terrifying silence that resulted in the aftermath of the sound by saying, “I believe that would be the big friend you mentioned?”

“It would,” the older man nodded, “And it sounds close.”

How he could tell, Rea had no idea. But Loro cut in before she could ask, “Can you three run with those stretchers safely?”

That was dangerous. There was the obvious problem of possibly dropping the person on the stretcher. The repulsors that held up the stretchers were not, by any means, strong. They basically just held the thing up at a comfortable level for most humanoids to push. Beyond that, however, it was rather easy to tip them over with too much weight on one end. If they were running too fast and not paying attention, it would be easy to tip the thing one way or another. And then there was the problem of not knowing the exact details of many of the injuries the three pilots had sustained. They had definitely all taken some internal damage, but how much and where was up for grabs. And that meant that there was a danger of bumping them around too much and ending up causing more damage.

A second, slightly deeper roar echoed to them.

All five of them looked between one another. It was Adria that spoke a very true statement in her matter-of-fact way, “I don’t believe those things are going to give us much of a choice.”

A part of Rea wanted to add some sarcastic remark to that, if only to lighten the mood. But there were times for that, and this definitely did not feel like one of them. In fact, it seemed that no one felt anything else needed to be said. Almost as one, they started to move again, the previous brisk pace immediately becoming as fast of a run as they could manage without dropping the three injured pilots.

Though Rea had no idea what the so-called ‘big friends’ were, she did learn one thing from the faces around her not long after they settled into a fast run. It was written on the older man’s sullen features, the way Loro constantly was looking over his shoulder every few seconds, and that same actions from Adria.

They weren’t fast enough.

 

[Krafus]

Hello, AMG, just wanted to let you know I'm still reading and still enjoying your story (and I really don't understand why you get so few such messages). Of the ongoing storylines, my favourite is Tobias's. Oh, and I hope Loki will pull through. He's one of the oldest characters in the story, it would be sad to permanently lose him.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Hello, AMG, just wanted to let you know I'm still reading and still enjoying your story (and I really don't understand why you get so few such messages). Of the ongoing storylines, my favourite is Tobias's. Oh, and I hope Loki will pull through. He's one of the oldest characters in the story, it would be sad to permanently lose him.

Always nice to hear people are still enjoying this.

As for other comments, as I've said before, methinks it has to do with Star Wars not being this board's primary interest. I seem to attract the silent types, which is fine by me. I know people are reading, because every update gets at least 30 views. Though my erratic updating of late probably doesn't help...so hard to settle into a schedule right now, as I'm just swamped with other work. In my last year or so of an art degree and man are they working me.

And, to address another point, Toby's fun will only grow. There's a LOT of war left. Timeline wise, this is still within the first year of the Yuuzhan Vong war, though towards the end. To put things in perspective, the battle at the Alraxian Gateway where Jyren died occurred 10 months after the start of the war in 25 ABY, right around the time of the NJO book, Balance Point. The attack on Yavin IV, where we are now, is around 13 months after the start of the war in 26 ABY, and the actual details of that are in Edge of Victory I: Conquest. The actual end of the Yuuzhan Vong War doesn't come until 29 ABY, five-ish years after it started. We're still veeeeery early into the war, and as it goes on the Jedi get more and more involved...so Toby gets some interesting times coming his way.

Any holy crap I just wrote a lot more than I'd thought. Could have gone into more detail timeline wise, but figure I'd just hit the major events we've seen and not spoil other events...even if you can read about them in the novels. Who knows what Toby will get stuck in the middle of?

 

[Prometheius]

Too bad they don't list how many people are subscribed to the stories (such as myself).

I guess I will start visiting the story when there is an update.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 569: The Center of the Galaxy

Technically, Tobias had been to Coruscant before. The problem with that was it had been many, many years ago and he had likely been an infant at the time. Most of his early memories were blocked away for his own sanity’s sake, and so if he had been to the planet, definitely, then the circumstances were not apparent to him. That was probably a good thing, considering what he’d been though as a child before Jyren and Marix had found him. And since then, despite all their adventures across the galaxy, he’d never been to the galactic capital with them.

From orbit, it almost looked as if the planet was on fire. Horus had entered the system on the night side of the planet, weaving through a countless amount of ships and various orbital stations. The planet beneath all of the space traffic and general orbital clutter was a dark circle lined by whites, oranges, and reds. There were circles, huge lines going vertically and horizontally across the entire surface, and then other, small shapes created throughout. When Tobias asked about that, Master Ral had said that they were lights, both from heavy airspeeder traffic and the huge amount of buildings that covered every single inch of the planet’s surface.

The flight in was just as fascinating as the view. Amongst so many different kinds of ships of so many sizes, Horus didn’t actually seem that out of place. In fact, a few of cargo freighters they passed looked more alien than anything Tobias had seen, except for maybe Yuuzhan Vong ships. The huge, orbital defense platforms were unlike anything he’d ever thought of. Massive, rectangular spires in the sky, surrounded by Mon Calamari star cruisers and Star Destroyers, they dominated Coruscant’s orbit.

It was as they entered the atmosphere of the planet in an approach to the Jedi Headquarters that Tobias began to truly grasp how unique Coruscant was. Humans always called the things of non-humans ‘alien’, despite the fact that, at the same time, most of them touted a galactic culture. Tobias had just always seen things as ‘different’, with the word ‘alien’ just bringing up xenophobic ideas. Maybe that just came with the ability to be other species, but now Tobias found himself seeing something that, for the first time in his life, truly felt alien to him.

In all directions around Horus, Tobias could see nothing but buildings. Some of them towered into the lower atmosphere, and even the ones that were down at lower altitudes were divided by literal canyons of speeder lanes. If there was an actual ground level to the world, Tobias sure as hell couldn’t find it, and he was looking hard. The buildings just seemed to go down and down and down and. Compared to that canyons Tobias was used to seeing, compared to everything Tobias was used to seeing, Coruscant and its features were like like a droid version of a planet. Where Tobias was looking for grasslands, forests, deserts, oceans, anything that was actually natural, he was simply presented with lifeless facsimiles of all of them. It was...somehow terrifying and awe inspiring at the same time. down. That didn’t even change as their altitude dropped to bring them to the dome-shaped Jedi Headquarters.

According to Master Ral, the building was nothing at all like the Jedi Temple of the Old Republic. To Tobias’ surprise, Varis nodded and added his agreement, mentioning something about the Temples on Alraxia having information on the ancient Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Of course, Varis’ information would have been thousands of years older than Master Ral’s, but that seemed only to improve their mutual point on the magnificence of the ancient building that had been destroyed and lost decades earlier. However, the dome of the Jedi Headquarters was in no way mundane. It was a beautiful building, with a pristine white roof and dotted with circular landing pads that actually looked more like oddly-shaped arms all around it. Most of them were actually empty, however, which seemed odd to Tobias until it was pointed out to him that there was an internal hangar and that the platforms were mostly for temporary use.

That remained true as Master Ral and Tobias disembarked. Varis had not even left the cockpit, simply saying a goodbye to the two of them before they left. There was no need to mention the fact that, if Tobias needed, Varis would be somewhere nearby, in galactic terms, if he was needed again. However, just as they exited into the odd-tasting Coruscant air, Horus had cut in and said that exact thing, obviously feeling it did, in fact, need to be mentioned. The ship then added something about Varis being boring and wanting more excitement before they left, and that brought a smile to Tobias’ face. Not all Kanyaks were arrogant, excitement-craving, speed-loving lunatics, but the most fun of them definitely seemed to be.

It had taken only a few more minutes of navigating the stark-white corridors of the building to arrive at their destination. The room was, apparently, a library of sorts, but Tobias saw no books nor any evidence of books. Sure, a table at the center of the room seemed to be scattered with various pieces of flimsi, but that didn’t count. There were a couple of holoimages on the wall that looked to depict some great landscapes on one wall, while the others were covered in shelves that held datapads. Or at least. Something like that.

Master Ral did not seem to concern himself with any of that, instead moving straight to the table and activating the holoprojector in the center. The image shifted from the crest of the Jedi Order to a mix of images as Master Ral looked for something specific. They had been relatively silent the entire time in the building, and so Tobias wasn’t really sure what his Master was looking for. Considering their current surroundings, he expected it might actually have something to do with Tobias’ almost impossible reach with his Force senses. He was, however, surprised to see the image finally settle on the face of a man.

Though Tobias had only met Luke Skywalker once, he recognized the face immediately. It was his calm voice that didn’t seem to match the visage of the man, which was a bit lined with age but somehow managed to convey his humble origins. The voice was filled with exactly the kind of wisdom that Tobias expected of the man who had brought the Jedi back into the galaxy. In fact, Tobias found himself so lost in admiring this man that he had to catch up on what was actually being said.

When he returned to the moment, Tobias found that this was not a personal message to Master Ral, but a report on the state of the galaxy. It was meant for all of the Jedi Order, though with the state of the Holonet thanks to the war, was having trouble makings its way around. The details of the war were mostly glossed over, however, as Master Skywalker focused on the Jedi problems. Specifically, the split in the order that was growing more and more as a Jedi named Kyp Durron was leading his own faction to direct action in the war, where the rest of the order was still wrestling with just how involved they should all be without becoming a tool of the government. It was a complex situation that Tobias truly didn’t understand every facet of, mainly due to the fact that he was fairly disconnected to the order as whole. Because of this, it was when Master Skywalker’s report shifted directions that Tobias found himself much more interested.

Not only was the Jedi Order having its own internal troubles, but the situation with the New Republic was growing more and more tense. There was, apparently, a lack of trust from the New Republic towards the Jedi, and as the Yuuzhan Vong made it more and more clear that they saw the Jedi as a separate entity, the thought of simply stringing up the Jedi for the Vong was becoming more pervasive. Perhaps that was why the Jedi Headquarters was so empty...

When the report finally finished, Master Ral shut down the holoprojector and did something that surprised his apprentice. The Omwati Jedi Master let out a sigh, at the same time showing his tiredness and sadness through the Force. This faded a few moments later and Master Ral finally said, “What do you think of this, Tobias?”

Though he had half-expected that kind of question to be asked, it didn’t change the fact that Tobias really wasn’t sure what to say. He thought about it for a few minutes, having finally started to understand what it meant to think before acting or speaking, but found himself coming to the same conclusion. His ears flattened against his head in annoyance at himself and Tobias just shook his head, “Its just a mess. I barely understand politics back home but here...I just don’t know. Seems to me like nothing is really going right at all.”

“Do you agree with Master Durron?”

There was so much more in that question than were obvious at first glance. But while Tobias did make sure to truly think about that question, it didn’t take long at all, “What he’s advocating for the Jedi seems to be exactly the kind of thing you’ve been teaching me not to do.”

And then, as he always did, Master Ral shook up Tobias’ answer by asking, “Are you sure? Master Durron is trying to protect the lives of innocent people. Is it wrong to do that? Are you telling me that you believe we should sit on the sidelines and watch the Yuuzhan Vong kill billions of people?”

“No!” Tobias gave up thinking and finally devolved back into just reacting, “No, its...just...its...one of the first things you taught me, something I’ve only started to understand since I confronted that vision of my real father, was that a Jedi does not use the Force for attack. We aren’t aggressive. We are protectors and defenders. Taking the fight to the Vong is defending people, yes but...its twisting that idea. Its treading a line close to vengeance, but more like vengeance for lives not yet taken. And...and if you start fighting with your head lost in the future possibilities, you’ll start killing people based on what they might one day do, even if they never do.”

A rare smile formed on Master Ral’s long features, “And to think, sometimes I believe you’re too busy lost in your own thoughts to listen to a word I say...let alone actually understand them.”

Between seeing that and feeling the approval in the Force, Tobias couldn’t help a smile of his own. But that was wiped away a moment later when he started to think again, “What are we going to do, Master? There’s barely anyone here. I think I saw three other people in this entire building and I can’t sense many more beyond that.”

“You’ve known how dangerous our situation has been since you became my apprentice,” the Jedi Master walked around the table to rest a hand on Tobias’ shoulder, “It seems that events are growing worse much more rapidly since the attack on the Academy. I had hoped that we could take time to rest here in the safety of Coruscant for some time but...but it seems that we may not be safe here for very long. I’m going to contact some of the other Masters and see what else I can learn before deciding on a course of action. Consider this a day off from your training. Get some more rest, relax, or explore the area. If you do the latter, don’t go far and be very careful. Keep your comlink open so I can contact you if something comes up.”

Then, with a simple nod of his head, Master Ral left Tobias in that room on his own. A day off.

A day off on Coruscant, the planet that he’d been told so many stories about. He’d dreamed of coming to this world and having his own adventures there, but now that Tobias found himself on the planet at the center of the galaxy, literally and metaphorically, he couldn’t help but wish he was anywhere else. It just didn’t feel safe. He wondered if anything would, after Yavin.

...not that it was going to stop Tobias from exploring, of course.