Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 373: Back In the Middle

“Tell me you didn’t touch him!” Marix growled in a much more higher pitched voice than Tobias was used to hearing.

He glanced over his shoulder to see her barge into the room just finishing her morph into a human form and then push past him to where Jyren was now lying on the bed. Tobias shook his head as he was pushed to the side, noting that he was still shorter than her, even when she was nearly a full meter shorter... “I left him alone, like you said! But...but he’s still losing blood and those bruises don’t good and—“

”And you need to be human right now,” she cut him off without even looking at him. All of Marix’s attention was on Jyren, checking the flight suit and doing her best to clean up a bit of the mess while trying not to do too much.

The few moments she was taking was enough for Tobias to focus, take in a deep breath, and then morph human. It was slow, tedious, but he got it the first time. His voice now a completely different pitch, Tobias managed to ask the important question that was still hacking at his head, “Why aren’t we helping him?!”

Marix turned to face the (now) young human and stopped a moment. It was terrifying how much he looked like Jyren in that form. From the face shape to the colour of his eyes and his hair...there was no way that Tobias wasn’t trying to mimic Jyren. Which, truthfully, was a valid way to learn morphing, but for some reason it worried her. Quickly, though, she put that aside to answer the question, “We are helping him.”

“How?!” that simply didn’t make sense to Tobias...for obvious reasons.

Well, they should have been obvious. However, at this point, Marix was too focused on exactly what needed to be done to stop and actually explain the hows, whys, and other little details that came together to actually form a coherent picture. And besides, there wasn’t time.

Marix turned up to face the ceiling above them, ignoring Toby’s second question, “What’s it looking like out there, Loki?”

[The tractor beam has pulled us in...] there was a pause and something that could have been a nervous sigh. [...boarding teams are searching for the hatch.]

Nodding, the two violet coloured eyes locked onto Tobias and gave him a very serious stare, “Stay out of the way and don’t say anything. This is going to be difficult enough as it is.”

And before another question could be asked, she darted out of the room and for the hatch. While Tobias was left in a state of confusion, Marix was still working on overdrive. A quick check of herself confirmed she wasn’t carrying any weapons(this was not the time for that, for once), and she took a few deep, calming breaths to attempt to do what had to be done in a way to not get herself shot.

And then, right when she nodded her head to signal Loki that she was ready, the hatch silently irised open. A wisp of processed, almost stale tasting air washed over Marix’s less-sensitive Human nose, and the stark black, reflective surface of the Star Destroyer’s hangar deckplates immediately gave her a view of the amount of people around them.

The Force sent a quick warning just before an armed near-human(definitely not full human, as most she knew of had ears...) stepped into view and pointed a blaster rifle straight at her, “Step out of the ship!”

Well...here it was.

“There isn’t time for this!” Marix said loudly enough that she knew a good amount of the hangar would hear, then pointed back to the corridor, inside Loki, behind her, “The pilot’s alive but he won’t be much longer without medical attention!”

“Stand aside,” the security officer spoke in a stern, but slightly less threatening voice.

A moment later she caught sight of a group of three white-uniformed humanoids headed for her, and Marix knew they were the medical crew that she had damn well hoped would be waiting. But, of course, Marix didn’t stand aside.

Instead, and knowing it was a dangerous thing to do with the blaster rifle aimed straight at her, she grabbed the security officer’s arm and looked him straight in the eye, “He’s my ma—“

She nearly said ‘mate’. Rational thought caught up quickly enough, however, noting that it would not be even slightly normal for one human to refer to another as their ‘mate’. Which meant she had to recover that quickly or...

“He’s my,” she tried again, but the word that she knew needed to be used just didn’t come out, “My...he’s...” pausing a moment and cursing herself for still feeling so awkward about the whole situation after so long, Marix simply let go of the man’s arm and sighed, “He’s mine.”

The point seemed to make it across. The blaster was not lowered, but she was allowed to lead the medical team to him and even stay with them to the medical ward three decks up. Of course, she was followed by another four guards, all watching closely and obviously waiting for something. That something came when Jyren was taken into the medical ward and immediately given attention by the on-duty medical droid that was assisting an overwhelmed Bothan doctor.

The security officer that had first pointed the weapon at her was still there, and put a very firm hand on her shoulder, “You’ll need to come with us for questioning.”

Marix nearly broke his arm off.

She nearly broke his arm off, tore that blaster out of his other, and gunned down the other guards before cleaning the medical ward out and stealing Jyren away to Loki again.

She nearly got the two of them killed.

But all she did was nod.

The New Republic was no Galactic Empire. Their questioning would likely be little more than just that. She could handle it...and, for Jyren’s sake, needed to.

Damn him. Damn him and the things she always seemed to be doing to keep his tail alive.

...but, in all truthfulness, it felt good to be in the middle of the fray again.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 374: Alive Again

It wasn’t long before the battle was over. Whether it really deserved to be called a battle or not was still debatable, but such little technicalities mattered little to any of the people aboard the Araddon or the other ships that made it out. The fleet had only lost its two gunships, but it was enough of a hit to drop morale down to a dangerous low...and knowing that they were abandoning Agamar’s defense fleet that had been on the other side of the Vong cruiser-analogs didn’t do that morale any good, either. The planet was likely lost...and Ithor...well...no one knew what had happened there, yet, but even the Admiral feared a similar fate for the peaceful world.

Surprisingly, though, the starfighter squadrons had faired well. Despite being outnumbered and, truthfully, outgunned, very few pilots had actually been lost. The worst came with pilots that had managed to eject but were not able to be recovered before the jump to hyperspace was forced on the fleet. The ones left behind were worse than the ones shot down. But there was one retrieved...one pilot brought back to the Araddon before the jump.

The story itself had spread like wildfire the second it had happened, with the commanders and other officers just trying to keep the comm channels silent so that orders could actually be heard. A strange looking, civilian transport had jumped into the system, gone straight into the deadliest point in the battle to extract a single pilot just as waves of Coralskippers tore apart the gunships next to them. The two remaining X-Wing pilots escorted the transport back to the fleet, taking down at least eight skips in the process...and then, despite the cries of a few of the commanders in the fleet, the rest of the starfighters turned to intercept, ensuring the survival of the transport and the two pilots who’d protected it nearly the entire way back to the fleet from the dead zone in between the New Republic and Vong forces.

It was the one thing that kept so many from simply giving up right then and there. All of the starfighter pilots in the fleet could say they saved their friends, even if they didn’t know anyone in Zephyr Squadron beyond their call signs. It meant that the mess had been quite active since the jump to hyperspace, and surprisingly happy...as everyone was doing their best to allow the one moment to overshadow the hundreds of other bad ones.

And in one of the smaller medical wards aboard the Araddon, Jyren opened his eyes. Dizziness was all that he currently felt, and as this settled, his eyes made out two distinct shapes that quickly became people. The first was Tobias...except human...which, honestly, wasn’t a huge difference. He was just a little shorter than ‘normal’, and thinner, but his jet-black hair was just like Marix’s while his eyes and even the shape of his face gave Jyren the distinct feeling of looking into some strange mirror. And next to Toby, who, Jyren noted, was actually wearing one of his old jackets, was Rulae Nok. The Duros was in rather casual dress, but there was still the rank insignia on his shoulder that showed he was obviously comfortable in some sort of uniform most all of the time.

A broad smile appeared on Tobias’ features, “Alive again.”

Jyren blinked a few times, ignored the headache, and mumbled, “...again?”

Duros did not have the ability to roll their eyes as they had no pupils insides their large, teardrop shaped red eyes...but somehow, the way the Rulae narrowed them gave a similar enough effect, “You think we’re just standing here because we know exactly when you’re going to wake up? This is the third time so far...of course, you didn’t speak the other two. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been shot,” Jyren answered, resisting the urge to attempt to sit up.

The smile on Toby’s face became a grin, “You were.”

Rulae glanced to the young human then back to Jyren, “Your starfighter was.”

Jyren didn’t exactly need to be told that. In fact, he’d only made his comment due to the usual sarcasm he found himself using around Marix. Apparently, it didn’t work with others...even Toby. Which then brought up the most obvious question, “What in the Force are you doing here, Toby?”

When the kid bit his lip and looked past Jyren, it was obvious the answer wasn’t exactly going to be either simple or to Jyren’s liking. It also didn’t help that Rulae was the one to answer the question, “I believe it’s a long story...and it is not the time for that, Captain.”

The use of rank had a way of bringing a few things back into perspective. It also gave Jyren the hint. Knowing he was aboard the Araddon, Jyren turned to Rulae and asked, “Can you have Tobias taken to my quarters?”

“I was about to suggest that,” the Duros nodded to a pair of guards who stood at attention, obviously ready to escort the young man.

“Hey! Wait—“

Tobias didn’t get far into his argument before Jyren cut him off, “Later, Toby. Right now...I think there are some things I have to take care of. I’ll catch up with you as soon as I can. I promise.”

The two pale blue eyes stared at Jyren for a long moment before Tobias sighed and nodded, then turned and fell into step next to the two guards.

When they were gone, Rulae had a seat next to Jyren’s bed and then gave him a very careful look before finally saying, “I know more about humans that you like to give me credit for. I know how old you are. I know how old that boy is. I know that there is no way in any hell that he could possibly be your son unless you fathered him before you joined the Zephyrs the first time.”

That got only silence.

Jyren managed to hold the careful look he was being given as his mind raced. Sometimes he really wished that his old friend wasn’t so damned intelligent. Jyren hadn’t even considered this would be a problem before, as he’d never assumed that Tobias would be anywhere near him while he was with the Zephyrs. Obviously, that would have made things too easy. But now he was stuck...and if Rulae continued to pick at things like this he might find out a few other things that Marix would definitely not want anyone else to know. Jyren didn’t exactly either, but, at the same time, didn’t feel right to be deceiving someone he trusted like this.

And yet, Jyren simply said, “He is my son.”

“He is at least sixteen standard years old, Jyren,” Rulae said very slowly, “There is no way that is possible and you know it.”

Damn that kid! It sure didn’t help that Tobias looked so much like Jyren when they were both human...in fact, it just made things more difficult! He really could pass as his son...yet, for someone that knew him, it was obvious that couldn’t be true. Fine.

A sigh escaped Jyren and he just shook his head, trying to ignore the pounding headache, “He’s my son, Rulae.”

For a moment, the blue-skinned Duros simply seemed to consider this. His thin lips didn’t seem to move when he spoke, “Adopted.”

“It doesn’t matter,” those words, Jyren truly did mean. It didn’t matter. And, suddenly feeling quite angry that he felt like he was defending that point, Jyren asked the question that had been tugging at his skull since he’d regained consciousness, “Rulae...where is she?”

For once, Jyren was glad his old friend wasn’t a fool. Rulae stood up again, obviously getting ready to leave and deal with...whatever he was going to be dealing with, and then said, “She’s being interrogated. I’ll have her brought here once they’re done. After that...I expect you to join the rest of us for debriefing in two hours.”

And then Rulae was gone.

Jyren couldn’t help a smile. He had to feel sorry for those interrogators.

 

[tmaaas]

It's great to see that your story hour is back.

I've been greatly missing it.

Thanks.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 375: An Interrogation of Sorts

What passed for interrogation aboard the Araddon was almost a joke to Marix. As someone that had been trained in very detailed forms of torture, both from the Alraxian Empire and the Galactic Empire, she knew very well how to get answers out of even the strongest of subjects. Usually, it simply took time.

But this man...he was barely Jyren’s age, and looked like he barely had any idea what he was doing. Nothing but questions. Not even pressing questions. It was so pathetic that Marix had no trouble answering them at all...none of the answers gave away anything important anyway and simply went to proving she had, in fact, shown up to help Jyren.

Certain details, of course, were left out. Namely the Force and the connection she shared with Jyren. Those would cause problems and simple mishaps could explain the coincidences away without any trouble. It was amazing how people would gladly accept such completely outlandish answers when there were obvious distractions. And being able to read people, especially without the Force, went a long way to detecting those distractions...which was why Marix had gotten bored very early on.

At that point, while she went on autopilot to answer the questions, her other senses scanned the small room around her. Imperial style interrogation room...at least three holocams, one exit on the opposite end that had a way of blending into the boringly bland wall, and nothing else. She’d broken out of more rooms like this than she cared to count. And, perhaps, that was the problem.

Every single other time she had been in such a room, escape was on her mind. Be it hers or the one sitting in her current position. But it was always there...keeping the occupants of the room alert and ready. It caused a sense in the air that was not comparable to anything else. But not this time. Something here was different, and while, at first, she blamed the pathetic interrogation she was undergoing, it wasn’t long before Marix came to the conclusion that it was on her end where the difference was.

She felt no need to escape. Yes, in a second, the holocams could be disabled and this human dead...with Marix gone from the room a few moments later and off the ship soon after. But...but not now. Jyren was somewhere on this ship and she wasn’t going to make another damned idiotic choice. She was here for a reason, and right now, that meant she had to deal with...with this.

And all through the interrogation, Marix was trying to find the right time to play the card she was holding back. It came sooner than she had expected, and in the pause while the interrogator was obviously sifting through to the next question, she spoke up, “There is a man aboard my ship that I believe you would do well to speak with.”

The directness of the statement caught the man off guard, and he looked confused for a little too long before regaining his neutral face, “What do you mean?”

“Before I came here, I encountered a group calling themselves the Peace Brigade,” she explained simply, “As far as I can tell, they are anti-Jedi humanoids working with the Vong.”

The silence that followed was just long enough. Marix didn’t need the Force to know how important that it was...but it sure helped. She could feel the shock jolt through the interrogator...and whoever was watching the holos provided by the cameras.

But the man in front of her seemed to compose himself quickly, though, and shook his head, “The search teams found no one else on your ship.”

They’d searched Loki?!

...of course they’d searched Loki.

Marix calmed herself as quickly as she could, letting a short slow breath but doing her best to keep it quiet enough that it wasn’t noticeable. Of course, if these interrogators were any good, they’d still notice it. Alright. They’d searched Loki...obviously, they’d not found anything horribly incriminating. And, of course, they wouldn’t have unless they knew where to go.

“He’s locked up in a safe section of the ship,” Marix said, immediately working out that she had the upper hand again. Still holding a straight, neutral face, she looked the human directly in the eyes, adopting a calm, but at least slightly disturbing gaze that would hopefully unnerve him, “And he stays there until I see the pilot I brought in.”

Right away, the man shook his head, “No. Give us the Peace Brigade man and then we’ll talk.”

“You won’t be able to find him without me,” she said flatly, “No matter how good your scanning crews are, you’ll never find him.”

No response came.

Marix knew that the interrogator was wearing some kind of comlink to listen to whoever else was watching them. And though his eyes still held her gaze perfectly, they were distracted. He was listening. Something was going on out there, and, from the feeling in the Force, it wasn’t making anyone happy.

Then the door opened and two blaster rifle-wielding marines stepped in.

“Escort this woman to the medical ward,” the interrogator said, a hint of anger in his voice, “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

Both of them nodded, and Marix took that as her cue to stand up finally. A triumphant smiled formed on her face and she simply nodded to the man as she passed, falling into step behind one of the guards while the other walked behind her...blaster rifle casually aimed at her back.

It was a wonder the New Republic had made it this long...they were so much easier to manipulate than the Galactic Empire’s men had ever been. Not that Marix was one to complain.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 376: Thanks

[Wake up.]

Jyren was not asleep. However, his eyes were closed as he was doing his best to attempt some kind of Force healing, despite how horrible he was at it. But he knew that voice. Be it in his head, or in his ears...it wasn’t one that he would ever have trouble identifying.

Marix stood next to the bed he was resting in within the Arradon’s medical ward...and it had been so long since he’d seen her as a human, it took a second longer to really put all of the pieces together. Of course, this was partly because his head was still spinning slightly, but Jyren wasn’t going to admit that to anyone.

“Mar...” he trailed off a moment, suddenly wondering if she was using her name or not as his eyes caught sight of the two armed guards standing not too far away. She sent a simple feeling through the link, and he couldn’t help a smile, “Marix.”

But she said nothing. Well, not openly. The link was ablaze with activity, mainly feeding him all of the important information he would need to know so as not to get them into any more trouble. It only took a matter of seconds, and so the silence didn’t seem all that unnatural to whoever all was keeping an eye on them. Of course, part of the reason she said nothing was due to the general discomfort she felt with all of the people around...but that was something that she wasn’t going to admit to anyone.

“I see you’ve made some friends already,” Jyren said a bit quietly as he sat up in the bed, cringing as a few quick jolts of pain shot up his back.

Glancing over her shoulder, Marix shrugged, “You’ve always said I have a way with people.”

“It would definitely explain why they’re keeping their distance.”

That got a hint of a smile on her face.

Jyren reached up and took her hand, causing her to jump slightly at the sudden touch, but before she could say anything, he adopted a more serious tone, “You shouldn’t be here.”

Marix’s eyes met his and gave him a look that could have caused stars to go supernova, “We’d be dead if I wasn’t,” she shook her head, the shorter, jet-black hair now obscuring her vision slightly, “One of us has made the wrong choice in our actions.”

A cryptic statement that Jyren knew the meaning of only thanks to the link. He sighed. To a point, she was probably right. Being apart such great distances for any length of time was difficult. Not just in the abstract sense, but there was a concrete, almost physical lack of...of...completion was the only word Jyren could think of, but it wasn’t even wholly accurate.

“I need to be here,” he said finally, trying to hold a stern voice while still matching that gaze.

To his surprise, Marix shrugged, “Maybe you do...” she trailed off a moment, allowing him to realize what she meant, but then quickly added, “But I don’t.”

And she was right. He was thinking of himself and not the two of them...and, of all people in the galaxy, he should have been used to thinking about the both of them instead of just one. So maybe he’d made the wrong choice coming back...maybe...no! No, Jyren was sure this was the right place for him. He was doing the right thing but...

A stray thought through the link caught his attention suddenly. Considering what it was, to know that it came from Marix and not himself was at least slightly surprising. And, even though she knew he picked up on it, for some reason, Jyren knew it was best to speak up and prove that he wasn’t just pretending. With another sigh, he looked down and said quietly, “Toby doesn’t need to be here.”

Marix nodded, but didn’t respond otherwise. She would have, but Jyren’s eyes darted past her and she glanced over her should to see one of the guards take two steps closer. He didn’t speak either, but the point got across.

They would have to talk later...it seemed like the officers aboard the ship were getting impatient.

Also understanding this, Jyren squeezed her hand gently before letting go of it, “I have a debriefing in a little while...we’ll talk after.”

Again, Marix simply nodded. Even the link was kept fairly static for whatever reason and she forced a neutral face again and turned to be lead back to the hangar with the two guards. But, as she stepped out of the room, Jyren said. [Thank you.]

Through the link, she sent a wave of warmth, which was a surprising but welcome gesture. [You know you don’t need to thank me.]

[But I always will.]

 

[Angcuru]

Hooray!

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 377: Orders

The second that the door to the squadron’s briefing room slid open and Jyren stepped in, he was greeted with a roar of laughter and cheers. It was surprising the amount of noise that just nine pilots could make(as, Jyren noted, Rulae was not yet present).

“Well, look who’s on his feet!” the red-haired Adria Harken laughed, stepping over to give his shoulder a good slap(which stung...she was stronger than she looked), “You know that you were supposed to be listening to the training exercises while you were teaching us, yes?”

Jyren couldn’t help a smile, “Well, it was getting a bit boring in that cockpit. Thought I’d just take it straight to the Vong the old fashioned way.”

The Bothan of the squadron, Cest, grinned and his cream-coloured fur rippled slightly, “Getting the wife in on the fight is pretty old fashioned.”

“A bit dirty, if you ask me,” Rea chimed in from behind a few of them. Jyren’s wingmate was still seated, but leaning slightly to make sure he saw her expression.

“You know,” Jyren said as he walked down the amphitheater-styled room to a mid-level chair, “If she heard any of you talking about her like that she’d kill you...well, if you were lucky.”

That got another good roar of laughter from everyone, but it was fairly obvious that Jyren was being serious when he said that. But celebrations were cut short as the door slid open once again to reveal the Zephyr’s Duros commander.

Everyone had a seat, knowing it was time to get down to business, and Rulae simply nodded in Jyren’s direction rather than saying any words. It wasn’t surprising...even when he’d been younger, Rulae hadn’t been involved in many of the usual squadron’s antics. He had always been the one to sit back and watch silently.

When he got to the podium at the bottom of the room, he looked over the remaining members of the squadron and said simply, “You all did a very good job out there. I know it didn’t look pretty, and we couldn’t save Agamar, but we did our best...and most of us made it out alive...” he trailed off a moment and the silence that followed was mainly due to the fact that everyone was trying not to count their numbers to easily identify their lesser numbers. But this didn’t last long, as Rulae went on, “We all know what happened at Agamar, and as I said, you did well. And I would like to congratulate both Flight Cadet Lor on her promotion to Pilot Officer...and out new Lieutenant, Obrack Loro.”

Rulae paused again to allow the rest of the squadron to congratulate the two pilots in the squadron that everyone agreed deserved a promotion above all others. They had both been stuck in the middle of the fight with the doomed gunships, and not only had they made it out alive, but they protected the still-unidentified transport on its mad dash back to the fleet.

But the moment last too long, as Commodore Nok was obviously not finished, “Now, there is one last thing I’d like to let all of you know. While Agamar was attacked, another Vong fleet assaulted Ithor. Despite the size of the fleet we fought, it was a decoy to distract us from their real target...however, thanks to the Imperial Remnant, the planet was defended and the Vong driven out.”

“...the Remnant?!” to most of the pilots’ surprise, that was Jyren.

Rulae, however, had expected that reaction from him, and nodded, “Yes. And without them, Ithor would have been lost.”

Something didn’t feel right. Jyren knew it wasn’t the Remnant that was really bothering him...more that they were so small that there was no way they could have sent a fleet of any sufficient size to help. Part of him thought it was a bad idea to speak his concerns in the open like this, but another took over and, proving that he’d been around Marix for far too long, got straight to the point, “The Remnant doesn’t have a fleet strong enough to do that without leaving their own borders unprotected.”

“Correct,” Commodore Nok nodded again, his blue skin catching the lights slightly before his red eyes locked onto Jyren, “They left themselves undefended to help us. Much of their fleet has returned to Imperial space, but they have left some behind at Ithor to assist.”

“Assist?” this time, it was the Bothan, Cest Uu’vel, speaking up, “Would the Vong really attack Ithor again?”

“They will,” the Duros answered again in an emotionless tone that was slightly unnerving, “When the Remnant fleet arrived, the Vong were caught off guard. They were not driven back due to fighting...an agreement was forged. The Vong commander withdrew his forces for a standard month. We have that long to fortify the planet before he returns.”

That got silence.

It didn’t take Force-enhanced perceptions to know something was wrong with that.

And Rulae didn’t even wait for anyone to ask the question, “Ithor’s safety is to be decided by a duel between the Jedi, Corran Horn, and the Vong’s Commander.”

Somehow, that only helped explain a small amount. Everyone understood the strong sense of battle-oriented honour that the Yuuzhan Vong had, but somehow that just wasn’t enough. The fact that the New Republic had even agreed to that kind of action...or had it? Had it just been the action of one Jedi?! It wouldn’t have surprised anyone if it was.

Again, Cest broke the silence, still looking somewhat confused as his grey eyes seemed to stare at nothing at all, “But why fortify the planet?”

“We can’t trust the Vong,” Jyren answered immediately, starting to understand the situation. He then turned from the Bothan to look back to Rulae, “I assume we’re part of Ithor’s defenses?”

Rulae nodded, “Correct. We’ll be arriving in system in another hour. Once we arrive, I’ve arranged for a day’s worth of leave for everyone. Get some rest or head down to the planet...but the next day we start our in-system training exercises,” after waiting for everyone to take this in, the Duros adopted a more casual stance, “You’re dismissed.”

There was very little talk as the squadron got out of their seats and started to head their separate ways. Jyren took his time, feeling that he needed to wait anyway, and thus, was not at all surprised when he heard his old friend call out as he turned to head to his quarters to find Toby, “Captain. A moment, please.”

By the time Jyren had stepped down to where Rulae was next to the podium, the rest of the pilots were gone. It was then that Jyren decided to speak his mind, “Its not going to be pretty when the Vong come back.”

“It never is,” Rulae agreed with a sigh, “We’ll do what we can to get the kids ready for it, though.”

“From the quiet, I think they all realize just how important Ithor is.”

Again, Rulae nodded, “Home to one of the Rebellion’s greatest supporters, a planet of unmatched beauty, and the gateway to the Core worlds. Yes...they know.”

An odd flash in the Force caught Jyren off guard and he had to ask the question it brought up, “You didn’t want to talk with me about this.”

“No, I didn’t,” the Duros shook his head, then took a step closer so he could look his old friend in the eyes, “The Jedi are gathering on Ithor just like we are. There’s supposed to be a joint meeting of sorts tomorrow afternoon, local time...I want you to be there.”

Jyren wasn’t an idiot. He knew there was a lot more to that than Rulae was telling him, “I’ll go as our squadron’s ears, Rulae, but not as anything else.”

“Our squadron doesn’t need ears,” Rulae nearly snapped at him, the stern, commander voice was back, too, “I want you to be there as yourself. They will be protecting the planet’s surface and the floating cities. You’re a damn good pilot, but from what I hear, you’re better with that lightsaber of yours.”

Suddenly, Jyren’s own voice reached a stern, almost angry tone, “I will not abandon these kids.”

“And I’ll make this an order if I have to.”

For a long few moments, the two simply stared at each other’s eyes. Deep red meeting the icy cold of Jyren’s blue...and neither could penetrate any kind of defenses. But, finally, Jyren relinquished and allowed himself a small nod, “Yes, sir.”

He stood at attention, saluted, and headed back up the steps to leave the room.

As the door opened for him to leave, Rulae called up to the human’s back, “It wasn’t an order yet, Jyren.”

Jyren did stop...and he stood in the doorway for a few seconds before glancing over his shoulder to where the Duros stood, “If it isn’t, I won’t go.”

And before Rulae could respond, Jyren left the Duros along in the briefing room. Rulae watched the door close, then glanced down at the datapad in his hand. Shaking his head, he sighed and started out himself. It was amazing how difficult humans could be...especially Jyren.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 378: Choice

Handing the Peace Brigade man, Taril, over to the Araddon’s security detail seemed to earn Marix at least a little more of their trust. Enough that they had stopped asking questions about Loki, which was very comforting. It was becoming more and more difficult to create believable lies that Loki could emulate. If they found out he was alive...well...considering that the Vong used living technology, Marix was fairly sure that no explanation would be good enough.

But the strangest thing was that they didn’t seem to be trying to get her off the ship. Marix had dealt with military ships before. It didn’t matter who they were, Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, even mercenaries or small planetary defense fleets, there seemed to be a universal dislike for civilians aboard their ships. Well, no...maybe she was wrong. The Rebels had always worked fairly well with smugglers, for obvious reasons, and rarely had problems with random ships taking refuge in their hangars for short periods of time.

Yes, the Rebellion had faded into history many years earlier, but if Marix could remember it as clearly as she could...well, maybe some others did, too. Jyren had always talked about old Rebellion veterans still fighting in the New Republic military. Perhaps the commander of the Araddon was one of them...or perhaps she just didn’t register on their scanners as important enough to yell at.

“I know that look,” Jyren’s voice broke her train of thought immediately.

The neutral ‘look’ that Marix’s face apparently held gave way to one of slight confusion, and she glanced to her side at him and raised an eyebrow, “You do?”

Of course, he nodded. Marix didn’t need the link to see that coming, “You’re going to stay when we get to Ithor.”

Marix turned her attention away from him and looked over the small mess they sat in. It was fairly populated, as was to be expected during hyperspace jumps when there was little to do for pilots, but she couldn’t get past the old need to watch everyone around her closely. Maybe it was the fact that the last time she was on a Star Destroyer wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences...with Jen...and the Darkwings...

Shaking the thoughts out of her mind, she decided that Jyren was probably expecting her to respond. But she didn’t need to. The link had already answered his unspoken question...which was why he had spoken the answer to it. Why he didn’t trust the link was beyond her. Over a decade and he still had to speak things out loud that words had problems expressing. Sometimes, she wondered if he did that on purpose, just to make her uncomfortable, or annoyed, or...or...anything.

“Tobias wants to be a Jedi.”

Neither of them had expected those words to come out.

Jyren blinked a few times before turning to look at her directly. And, for a moment at lest, he felt like he was looking at someone else. Even the voice was different. And yes, he knew it was Marix but...but the shorter hair, the softer human features and every other tiny difference just struck him suddenly. So long without seeing her as a human really seemed to have more of an effect than he had ever expected.

Composing himself, Jyren managed a sigh, “Didn’t we talk him out of that years ago?”

Marix shrugged, “Apparently not...” she then turned to face him, matching his blue eyes with her violet and making sure he knew she was serious, “It may be some childish hero worship, but he means it this time.”

“You sound like you’re actually going to let him try,” Jyren couldn’t make his voice sound as shocked as he really was...so he let the link do the rest.

Glad that he was at least willing to use the link somewhat, Marix responded by sending her own feelings through the link. After allowing him to absorb that, she said quietly, “He is...young. But...but he’s old enough to choose his own path.”

Jyren knew why that was so difficult for her to say, “You always said he’d join the Tam’Day’U. I even tried to encourage it...”

“But he doesn’t want that,” Marix’s voice was nearly a whisper.

He didn’t want it.

Want.

That one word said how much they had changed the Alraxian Empire. Tobias was probably the first child in the history of the Alraxian people who should have been taken away as an infant and trained as a killer...but was instead allowed to have a somewhat normal childhood and then choose. Never before had there even been an option. And despite the fact that Marix knew that Tobias wanted to be a Jedi for all the wrong reasons...she couldn’t tell him ‘no’. There was no way she was going to deny him the choice she’d fought to give to all of her people, just because she didn’t agree with him.

And Jyren understood.

But instead of saying anything in response to that, he simply reached over and very carefully put an arm around her. Jyren knew that it would make her uncomfortable...at least, it would when there were so many people around, even if they weren’t paying either of them any attention. And she did tense up noticeably, but before she could say anything or move away, he grinned slightly and said, “You’re going to laugh when you hear what I’ve been ordered to do when we get to Ithor.”

“Oh, really?” Marix’s voice was a bit shaky, but the tension faded slightly and she glanced up to him slightly, “Never once have I laughed when you’ve started a story like that.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” he laughed slightly, “The Jedi are gathering on Ithor. There’s a meeting of sorts being organized the day after we arrive to decide how to defend the planet’s surface. Guess who’s going to be there whether he likes it or not.”

A very tiny hint of a smile snuck its way onto Marix’s face, but she fought back any other outward reaction, “The second Toby finds out...”

Jyren laughed again and shrugged, “I don’t know how he’ll do it, but he’ll find a way to stuff himself in my pack if that’s what it takes to get down to the surface with me.”

Nodding to that, Marix finally stopped fighting back her own grin, “Where is the brat, anyway?”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 379: Not So Little

The brat was still stuck in Jyren’s quarters. As far as Toby knew, the guards that had escorted him there were still standing outside, and he wasn’t going to risk trying to sneak out if he didn’t have to. Besides, this was different than being at the Palace...he had no idea of the ship’s layout...

So, instead, he had simply done what little exploring of the small quarters as was possible. The holos were interesting, but Toby had seen them all before so they held no interest for him. But it hadn’t taken long to find something that was interesting. Jyren was terribly predictable, really. After only a few seconds of digging, Tobias dug out his father’s lightsaber from, of all places, underneath the pillow on the small bed.

If he was trying to hide the thing, Toby was going to have to teach Jyren how hiding things was done. But where it was, in the end, didn’t matter. Holding the metal object carefully, and feeling the unease wash over him at the cold item in his hand, Tobias tried his best to focus through it all. This metal could kill him. His body knew it and pushed him to remove it from his touch, despite the fact that he was currently human. But...all around him, there was metal.

It was the first time he’d been away from Alraxia since he was a child, and he suddenly understood why Alraxians kept to themselves. It was...it felt...wrong. His imagination suddenly ran wild with the possibilities of what could happen...a simple chip of the metal in his skin from the hilt of the weapon or...or...

A few deep breaths later, Tobias silenced the near panic. He was raised around metal. He was not a normal Alraxian. Yes...it could kill him, but he was not afraid of it. Well, not terrified at least. Most of the time...usually helped when he wasn’t alone and his mind wasn’t allowed to go crazy with all of those...

No!

Focus.

Calm.

This time, he attempted some of the calming techniques that both of his parents had taught him. There were so many that it was easy to go through one at a time until one of them, finally, set his mind at ease. And then, slowly, he opened his eyes and again looked at the weapon in his hand. All of his life he’d wanted to hold this, and every single time he’d gotten a chance to, it had been ripped away. He was ‘too young’ or ‘playing around’ or something equally annoying.

But no one had come into the room now. And, from what he could feel through the Force, no one was going to be anytime soon. Tobias was safe...

Snap-hiss!

The blue-green light bathed Tobias and the nearby pieces of furniture in a new light, while the thrumming of the energy blade drowned out all of the ambient noise. And it was...amazing. Despite the blade, there was no added weight. Not even a slight shake of the hilt from the surge of power it must have taken to activate the weapon. Just...just a burst of energy and power at the touch of a switch.

Very carefully, Tobias tested the weapon, gently moving it from side to side and getting the feel of it. Or, trying to get the feel of it. The fact that the only weight was at the hilt where his hands were simply felt wrong. How anyone could wield a weapon like this was beyond Toby. Sure, he’d never really held a normal sword...but it was just natural to expect something! Here it was nothing.

And then there was a soft beep from the door.

With a yelp of surprise, Tobias nearly dropped the weapon...which would have taken his arm off and at least a few pieces of the desk that was a little too close. But, thankfully, he caught it, fumbled for the activation switch and dove for the bed in one swift, if not clumsy, motion.

In a matter of seconds, the lightsaber was stashed away again, and Tobias was trying to not look guilty as he tried to figure out what to do. Wouldn’t Jyren just walk into his own quarters?! Of course he would! Then who was it?! Did they know he was here? What would they do if they found him?!

Before any other questions could race through Tobias’ head, there was another beep and the door slid open with a soft hiss. Eyes darting to the door, Tobias saw a somewhat short, blue-skinned humanoid standing there looking somewhat confused. When she tilted her head to look over to where he stood, Tobias noticed that there were two long...tails of sorts hanging from her head. And then, putting a few pieces together, he realized she was a Twi’lek...and, from the look of the uniform she was wearing, a pilot.

“Um...” she stared at him a moment, obviously unsure of who he was, “...the uh...um...Captain BlueIce said to just come in if he didn’t open it and...uh...this is his quarters, isn’t it?”

Tobias had managed to fight back his look of guilt, but it was still obvious that he was uncomfortable with the situation. He’d never been good with new people. Male, female, Alraxian, Jendari, whatever they were, he just had a way of hiding and keeping to himself.

Quickly, though, his mind reminded him that a question had been asked, and he did his best to find some kind of answer, “Y...yes...?”

And that was why he usually had trouble around people he didn’t know.

The Twi’lek blinked a couple of times, then tried her best to figure out exactly what had just been said. It didn’t take her long to give up on that, and so she attempted a different angle, “...who are you, anyway?”

Tobias went white. He was in trouble now. He knew he should have been with Jyren! Now who knew what was going to happen?! Lie! No! By the Force, NO! Tell the truth and then they’ll find Jyren and then all will be fine.

“T-Toby...err...” he shook his head a little too roughly, “Tobias. Um. Tobias...BlueIce.”

Just as he finished speaking, a very large smile formed on the Twi’lek’s blue face. She then made Tobias even more uneasy by actually stepping into the quarters, “So you’re the little monster he’s talked about?” she laughed and extended a hand in his direction, “My name is Rea. I’m your father’s wingmate.”

Knowing what he was supposed to do, Tobias did his best to greet her properly and shake her hand. Of course, his hand was shaking on its own the entire time so it was even more awkward than it should have been...but even though he was now left speechless, Rea just laughed quietly, “Not so little, though.”

 

[DethStryke]

*cues 80s porn music*

Bow-chica-whah-whah....

Good to see this alive again! Welcome back!