Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 411: Into the Fray

Jyren stood between Venda and Admiral Tarus aboard the bridge of the Araddon as the other ships of the fleet began to move to their positions. The strike cruiser and two Corellian gunships were moving with the Araddon to meet the Vong forces head on, next to what Jyren had told the Admiral were two ships they needed to defend. At the same time, the single Nebulon-B Frigate and a smaller corvette were moving towards the giant Gateway as a sort of rear defense.

Currently, the Admiral was dividing his attention expertly between paying very close attention to Jyren and to the coordination of the fleet’s movements. And as things were currently moving on their own, with no one yet in firing range, the Admirals full attention turned to Jyren, “The comm officer tells me you did a few things you shouldn’t have just a few moments ago.”

All Jyren could do was attempt to match the Admiral’s stern gaze, “I apologize, sir, but it was necessary.”

It wasn’t hard to notice when the Admiral’s eyes shifted to glance to the Jedi woman, who seemed to give him no response. But a moment later, they were back on Jyren, “Fleet Command is not going to be happy about any of this, Captain. The last thing that needs to occur here is giving them more reasons to object. If you are forcing these people to accept our—“

”I am not forcing anyone,” Jyren cut the Admiral off in a very sharp tone, something he regretted a few seconds later. He sighed at himself, knowing that he was letting the tension of seeing a Vong fleet fighting, of all things, Mrrakesh ships, was getting to him. After quickly attempting to calm himself down, Jyren adopted a new tone and direction, “Sir, if I can, I would like to get my son off of this ship.”

Admiral Tarus did not hide his reaction, and a single eyebrow went up very noticeably, “Are you expecting something to happen to the Araddon, Captain?”

“No, sir,” that was ended quickly and decisively, “However, this is not a place he should be. I can take him in a shuttle to the Gateway and he’ll be fine.”

“Captain,” the Admiral started, this time turning to face Jyren fully, and showing the lines of age on his face in the process, “You are not leaving this ship. You are the reason we are out here, and your place is on the bridge as an advisor. I will not have my single contact with a people I know nothing about running off. Do you understand?”

There was more left unsaid, and it didn’t need to be. The Admiral didn’t trust Jyren...and for good reason...but he was following along here. He was only going to step so far, though. And Jyren couldn’t fault the man for that. And so, Jyren allowed himself a nod before saying, “This may be my only chance to get my son out of this war. Its as close to home as he’s been in weeks, and I doubt we’ll be out here anytime soon again. I need him to be safe and off this ship, sir, even if someone else has to get him away.”

A silence held...or rather, a silence between the two of them. The bridge was still ablaze with noise as they approached the front lines of the fight. From the sounds of the comm officers, the fighter squadrons were already engaging the Vong. It wasn’t going to be long before the Araddon was in the thick of it all.

“I have no ships to spare, Captain,” the Admiral shook his head, “I’m sorry.”

Jyren bit his lip, shaking his head in return before turning to the console in front of them. He said nothing, but instead went straight for the comm panel on it. It didn’t take long for him to input a short encryption sequence and then he hit the activation switch, “Marix?”

In the pause after he spoke into the comm, Venda put a hand on Jyren’s shoulder, “Jyren, I do not believe this is the time to—“

”What is it?” the voice that both Venda and Admiral Tarus recognized as the Empress who had just sent the fleet a message came through the comm unit’s speaker.

That had been Jyren’s goal. He could have said this through the link, and had even done so, partially, but it was more important that these two knew. Everything, all of a sudden, was about image. The Alraxians had to be painted in the right light very quickly or everything was going to, as Marix had a habit of saying, go pear shaped.

...whatever that meant.

“I need you to come get Toby now,” he answered in a calmer tone than he’d used in the last two hours.

Through the link, Marix responded. [I can’t just run over and get him, Jyren.]

But Jyren didn’t answer through the link, and it was something that reminded Marix of the old days when he seemed to forget it was even there, “You see the black coming...closing in on everything....don’t you?”

That, she couldn’t answer out loud. Her voice through the link was steady, hard, and completely unnatural sounding. [Yes.]

“I see it, too,” he answered, trying to ignore the people around him that were listening, “And its here, Marix. This is it and I can feel it. He needs to be away from it and safe.”

“I’m on my way,” she finally sounded through the comm again, which almost surprised the other two listening to the conversation...as they had both gotten used to hearing only one side. There was a click as the connection was closed, and Jyren looked up to the Admiral first.

But he didn’t speak first. Venda did, “That was the Empress that asked for our help, wasn’t it?”

To that, Jyren could only nod. But when he felt another question coming, he said firmly, “There is not time to explain. Any of it. You’ve trusted me far enough to come here, sir. Now we have to win this battle and protect these people.”

The timing worked out well enough, as the ships of the fleet had soon moved into position just behind the two remaining, and very badly damaged, cruisers. The coralskippers had scattered, with all of the fleet’s fighters in a violent dogfight with them...with the Zephyrs out there...

Admiral Tarus turned to the nearest of the two crewpits on the bridge in front of them and said, “Open fire on the nearest Vong ship. Concentrate all of the fleet’s firepower and overload their dovin basal defenses. If any of those ships head for that Gateway, have the Madine and the Corusca break off to intercept.”

And then the viewport lit up with green turbolaser fire to match the red volleys from the various Vong ships.

But Jyren found that he saw little of it. Before she had cut off the comm on her end, Marix had said one last thing to him...and it was something that worried him because she so rarely ever said it.

[You need to be safe, too.]

 

[Angcuru]

I was wondering when the Republic would directly encounter the Alraxian Empire. Me likee.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 412: Just Out of Reach

It was in the distance now...just out of reach. A blurry image that was starting to focus, but still just too far away to make anything of. Any probing towards it caused it to retreat just enough to remain in the distance. But it was there...close. How close was impossible to determine, though.

Perhaps Jyren was right. This enclosing darkness Marix could see through the Force but was unable to grasp...perhaps it was here. It certainly felt stronger and closer than ever, but she knew well enough he had a habit of exaggerating or taking things out of context far too much. Still, though, the ‘when’ didn’t matter as much as the ‘what’ did. She was sure it was nothing like before. Not like Sadrak or Ket. Not like the Mrrakesh...and it couldn’t be Vong because they simply didn’t seem to exist in the Force. It was something else...and stronger.

Marix closed her eyes again, trying to find it and focus but still reaching the same problem as the last time. It was there, but it wasn’t. It was like...a nexus of sorts. Everything boiling down into a single point, and then everything coming out of it. Or at least, that was the assumption. Marix could not see beyond the nexus. And that was the most worrying part of it all. She could feel the close connection to whatever this was, and the sense of nothing after the single point could have meant any number of things...few of them, however, were very positive.

[Are you alright?] Loki asked in a soft voice in her head.

Opening her eyes, Marix avoided looking out the small viewport and instead kept her eyes on the various controls in the Kanyak’s cockpit. Ever the honest one with her constant companion through the years, Marix shrugged.

When she did not respond in any other way, the ship added. [It was bound to occur one day...everyone knew that.]

“It didn’t have to be like this,” she said simply.

[Maybe it did.] Loki responded a little too quickly for a ship that was supposed to have an aversion to clear thought. [Maybe this is exactly how it had to be.]

Marix sighed and closed her eyes again. There it was...still there. Still out of reach. And yet...so close to home.

“Something is coming, Loki,” Marix said softly, “Something I cannot see. It is only a distant darkness to me...our people have been brought into a galactic conflict that we are not ready for. This isn’t something we can protect them from now, either...and...”

[And we are strong, Marix.] Loki did not finish that the way she was going to. [We have all been through very hard times, and we will get through this one together again.]

Marix did not respond at all to this, and so the point was ended there. It was a long few minutes of silence before Loki spoke up again. [The Araddon has given us permission to land...]

“Then get us there quickly,” she almost snapped at the ship, but Loki knew she wasn’t angry at him and so didn’t take it the wrong way.

But as she looked up to the viewport to see the battle outside, she knew why Loki had trailed off. The large, wedge-shaped Star Destroyer they were headed for was at the front line of the fight, its turbolaser batteries ablaze as it fired on a single Vong ship that looked almost like a tentacled asteroid...that was returning some kind of molten-fire like shots back at the larger ship.

Smaller dogfights were easily identified as bright flashes throughout the entire area, but from the looks of it, they were concentrated near the two remaining Mrrakesh ships...which were doing a very good job at both surviving and assisting the New Republic fleet in attacking the lead Vong ship.

Marix didn’t need to tell Loki to stay out of the fight. He knew not to...even if he wanted to get involved and have some ‘fun’. And so, as the Kanyak did his best to take a wide arc towards the Star Destroyer, Marix considered her next move.

There was a very delicate decision that needed to be made very quickly. She was leader of the Alraxian Empire, and while she had met these people before, it was under a different guise...though she had foolishly used her real name. So now, she had to decide whether to be up front with the New Republic and actually step off the ship as an Alraxian (which would complicate things immediately), or keep up the previous ruse and step off Loki as a human (which would likely complicate things in the long term).

The last piece of her people’s secrecy seemed to hinge on this, and yet Marix could find no good answer for it. There were too many questions lately...none that seemed to have good answers, either.

* * * *​

Jyren watched the battle from his place on the bridge. He knew Marix was close, both from the reports of the sensor officers and from the Force. Tobias was already in the hangar with his usual two guards, who had taken him down there as soon as Jyren had been allowed to let them know of what was happening.

“Admiral,” the sensor officer from the left crew pit looked up to where they were standing, “The Empress’ ship has began its approach. It will be aboard in a few moments.”

“Good,” Admiral Tarus nodded to the man, then looked to another man in the crew pit, who Jyren recognized as the second officer of the ship, “Commander, the bridge is yours.”

“Yes, sir,” the Commander nodded, then moved to leave the crew pit and take the Admiral’s position and do his best to continue to coordinate the attack.

The Admiral then turned to face Jyren and Venda, “As much as I despise the idea of leaving my bridge during a fight, we have a dignitary to meet with.”

And then, without a word, the Admiral started to leave the bridge. Jyren exchanged a glance with the Jedi woman, who seemed to still be trying to figure him out, and then they both fell into step behind the Admiral. As they were leaving the bridge, however, Jyren heard the Commander speaking, “Good work. Push into the Vong’s main forces and take out that ship trying to break through our line.”

So...one Vong ship down. That was a good thing, at least.

The walk to the turbolift, the ride down to the hangar, and the walk across the deck to where Tobias and his two guards stood was disturbingly silent. By the time the three of them arrived, though, the unique form of Loki was just setting down in the hangar in front of them.

More fleet marines stepped up, obviously meant as both protection for Admiral Tarus and as the usual honour guard that seemed to be so common when someone felt like playing a little diplomacy. But, as they were currently involved in a battle, it was likely more the former.

It was not long before Loki’s hatch irised open, and a single figure stepped out.

Through the Force, surprise could be felt from most of the occupants of the hangar, as an adult Alraxian, even Marix, had a fair height advantage over even the tallest of humans. She was wearing what Jyren recognized as an altered Tam’Day’U commander’s uniform...a simple blue-black tunic with no markings at all but a distinct shape that showed it was meant simple to conceal a morphsuit beneath. But she did not carry her usual weapon at her belt...which didn’t actually surprise Jyren as much as seeing her step out as an Alraxian.

As Marix stepped over to the group of them, the Admiral nodded formally, “I apologize for the lack of a proper meeting between our peoples, but I believe you understand the circumstances better than I.”

Marix returned the nod, but it became more of a bow thanks to her height advantage, which, internally at least, she was absolutely loving. Her voice was that diplomatic one that Jyren knew she hated, but was also very good at, “You have my people’s thanks...” her silvery-violet eyes then looked over to Toby, “Time to leave, Tobias.”

The young human, currently, looked surprised...he’d obviously not been told why he was in the hangar. He immediately turned to Jyren, “But—!”

“Toby,” Jyren’s voice was as firm as he could manage without being angry, “You need to go.”

“But I—“

Jyren cut him off again, this time with a much stronger tone, “Tobias. Go with your mother.”

The fact that Jyren had just called Tobias, who was human at the moment, the child of the very not-human Alraxian woman was not lost on anyone in the hangar that could hear it. But Jyren didn’t care. Some things were more important, and he could feel through the link that, while Marix was annoyed, she understood the point. It was obviously why she’d walked out as an Alraxian. Get all the problems away as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, Tobias didn’t argue anymore. He grumbled something under his breath that, if Jyren or Marix had been a little closer, would have gotten him clipped across the head for. But they weren’t, so he got a pair of glares instead as he shuffled to Loki.

Eyes then shifted to Jyren...and then to Marix. A question was going to be asked that neither wanted to answer, but then the Admiral’s comm beeped. He grabbed it and spoke into the small device, “What is it?”

“Sir,” it was the Commander that was on the bridge, “A small Vong ship broke through our line. It was too fast and we were unable to break off and stop it...” there was a pause, then, “It has just rammed into the Stardust, sir. It was no bigger than a freighter, but there is significant damage to the lower sections of the ship.”

All eyes had now shifted to the Admiral and his comlink. Jyren knew that the Stardust was one of the two ships holding the rear line...it was the single Nebulon-B cruiser in the fleet, and usually an excellent ship at taking down fighters and smaller craft. Obviously, things still got through.

But before the Admiral could respond, the voice returned again, “Sir, the Captain of the Stardust is reporting Vong warriors aboard. They are heading up the decks and killing and destroying anything in their path.”

That was not expected.

And neither was what came next.

“Sir,” that was not the comlink. It was Jyren, “Give me some Fleet Marines and let me go.”

“Captain, I need you here,” Admiral Tarus shook his head.

“I can do you more good on the Stardust,” he answered, “And I don’t need a ship to get there. But you know as well as I do there is a small complement of troops on that ship. They need more. Now.”

Silence held in the hangar.

It didn’t take long for the Admiral to look to Marix again, “Can you take them to the Stardust?”

“Yes,” Marix nodded.

At that, the Admiral looked to the roughly twenty Marines that were around him, “All of you, into the ship. The Captain is in command,” Tarus then turned to Jyren, “Get in contact with the Stardust’s Captain immediately, and do whatever you can to keep that ship up.”

“Yes, sir,” Jyren saluted, and then looked to Marix.

In a few more moments, Loki had more passengers than he’d carried in a decade.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 413: First Time for Everything

Standing behind Marix, who was in the pilot’s chair, aboard Loki’s cockpit, Jyren looked over her head and out to the view in front of them. The axe-shaped Nebulon-B Frigate, Stardust, sat there with the giant Gateway behind it...the lower sections of the main decks looking a mess. From this distance, it was easy to see a large black section where the Vong ship had hit, though there was no sign of the previous ship at all. Nothing else seemed to have broken through the main lines of the battle, and so it was a clear path back from the Araddon to this ship...which Loki appreciated.

[We have already received clearance to land.] the ship announced, just to Marix and Jyren. Tobias, who was sitting in Jyren’s usual seat, heard nothing...and was currently staring out at the view while also trying to look to the side to get a glance at the battle going on.

“Set us down as quickly as you can,” Jyren said, “We’ll get off right as you’re down.”

Though the link twitched at that, Jyren paid it no mind and instead turned to the open hatch that looked out to the small corridor that lead through most of Loki’s interior. The twenty-three New Republic Fleet Marines stood there, looking forward and a bit confused, as the ship was unlike anything they’d ever seen. To keep them focused, Jyren said, “Be ready to step off shooting. It looks like the Vong started in the lowest decks but other than clearance to land, we haven’t heard a thing from the Stardust.”

Only a few of them nodded. Most seemed to be lost in their own thoughts...though they all checked their blaster rifles, with others handing out small concussion grenades to make sure everyone had a fair amount.

When Jyren turned to face forward again, he noted that Marix’s right ear was turned around towards him. Putting that together with the feeling he was getting through the link, he asked, “What is it?”

This time, Marix surprised him and did not respond through the link, “We won’t be dropping you off, Jyren.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out what that meant.

“Marix, no —“

”If it must be an order, Jyren, it will be,” her cold voice was accompanied by a strong feeling through the link that knew there was no fighting this. Despite the fact that he was intolerably difficult, and being the Empress, she very well could order him to do anything, not once in the last decade had she done so...nor even threatened it with any seriousness. But now...

Now, she was serious.

“Toby...”

“Will be fine if he stays close and listens to the both of us,” Marix finished the sentence differently than Jyren had planned it, and he noted she had also turned to say the last part directly to the young Alraxian. To that, Tobias actually nodded without saying a word.

All of it brought up a question in Jyren, though, and he felt the need to ask it before he didn’t have a chance to. However, he used better judgement and reserved it to the link that was growing in strength again as they were so much closer. [What is it?]

[You know exactly what it is.] came her response in exactly the same tone as before.

Not liking that, Jyren tried another angle. [We both agreed that Tobias needs to be as far away from this when it happens.]

[Yes.] Marix’s tone had gone just slightly softer. [Yes, we do agree. But you need me with you on that ship. And you know as well as I do that we cannot just leave Toby on the ship.]

Jyren wanted to argue the point about needing her there...but he caught something through the link. It was not the fact that she didn’t trust him to keep himself alive, it was something else. Something even she couldn’t clearly place. But it came down to the fact that she felt it was important. And so, trusting in the Force and her natural instincts, she had made a decision.

By now, the large ship was dominating most of the viewport, and the hangar’s blueish glow illuminated it easily again the stark grey of the hull...and the blackness from the scorches of the heavy impact below. Jyren only took a small glance at the hangar ahead of them, noting it did not look to be any different than hangars usually looked while all the fighters were gone.

But that was the only look he allowed himself. Moving his hand down to Marix’s shoulder, he gave it a gentle squeeze before turning around and stepping past the marines, “To the hatch, boys. Hangar looks safe but we’re not taking any chances.”

There were a few ‘yes, sir’s that were a bit disturbing to Jyren, but the majority simply nodded and fell into step behind him towards the hatch. Through the link, Jyren felt annoyance from Marix about what he’d done...but at the same time, she seemed to understand.

Stopping in front of the hatch and waiting, Jyren looked to the marines who were all watching him, “Still no word from the Stardust so we don’t know what we’re walking out into. The second we’re down, we need to make sure the hangar is secure, and then find a comm panel to contact the bridge. We’ll proceed from there. Everyone understand?”

They all nodded...though Jyren could feel an unease through the Force.

He glanced down at his uniform, noting the Starfighter Command patch on one arm and the Zephyr on the other. Then, he looked up to the marines and said simply, “Yes, I’m a pilot. But I need you to trust me. I spent a good amount of time with SpecForce, so I know what I’m doing here, okay?”

The uneasiness continued for a short moment, but then one of the marines, tilting his helmet back slightly to look at Jyren better, spoke up, “Sir, we trust you.”

Jyren’s eyes went to the man. He was one of many humans amongst them, though there was a fairly diverse group overall. The white helmet covered his hair, but the lines of his face showed him to be roughly Jyren’s age(or at least, the age Jyren was supposed to be) and his eyes were mostly obscured from the shadow of the mask. But the man looked like he’d seen his share of battles. And, from the looks of his rank insignia, he looked like he was also the one in charge...if Jyren wasn’t around, at least.

“There is something, though,” Jyren said calmly, feeling through the link that Marix had them in the hangar and Loki was just setting down. This needed to be settled first, though.

“Well, sir,” the same marine spoke up, and Jyren finally managed to identify him as a Sergeant, “This is uncharted territory for all of us. That woman...Empress...whatever...we’ve never fought with anyone like her before...and we’ve never fought with a Jedi at our side, either.”

Jyren simply held the man’s gaze for a few moments. It was...expected, though not consciously. Perhaps unsurprising was a better word. Jyren had made no effort to hide his lightsaber since stepping aboard Loki, mainly because he simply didn’t think about it. So he wore his grey and red-piped formal uniform with the weapon at his belt next to his blaster pistol without a second thought. Of course it had been noticed...of course it had been recognized.

And...of course, he had to hold back a comment that they would be fighting with two of this ‘new’ species. Not just the Empress, but their Emperor, too. Somehow, though, Jyren doubted that would go over well. The title ‘Emperor’ even had a way of unnerving him sometimes.

[We’re down.] Marix’s voice sounded through the link, and he knew she was already heading towards them.

Nodding to himself, Jyren looked to all of the marines and then, as he took the lightsaber off of his belt, formed a smile that was only possible for a person that had been around Marix for so long, “There’s a first time for everything.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 414: Stardust

“None of them are alive, sir,” the Sergeant said as he turned back to face Jyren.

He was left to stare at the side of Jyren’s face, though, as it was hard to take in the entire view of the relatively small hangar of the Stardust. While a couple of shuttles were still sitting off to the side like was to be expected, the rest of the hangar was a mess...crates, parts, random objects that didn’t seem to be anything at all, and bodies were everywhere.

[You should have said something.] Jyren sent over the link to Marix, who was on the other side on the hangar, kneeling next to one of the larger collections of bodies.

He caught sight of her looking over her shoulder to him, but couldn’t make out any details of her expression. The fact that the only response he got was a simple annoyance was enough, though.

As one of the other marines stepped over to where Jyren, the Sergeant, and Tobias stood, it was the Sergeant(who’s name Jyren hadn’t caught, somehow), who turned to the other and asked, “What’s the count?”

“Twenty four of the crew and six Vong,” the other marine answered.

Jyren nodded upon hearing this. It sounded about right for the number of crew that would be in the hangar of a ship this size. But there was an obvious question that needed asking...however, Jyren didn’t have a chance to ask it.

It was Tobias who asked it, finally speaking up for the first time since they’d set down on the ship, “How long ago did...did this happen?”

“The blood is fresh,” Marix cut in, halfway to them by now and not doing anything to hide her voice...and so the unnerving statement was heard very easily by everyone in the hangar. Not that it mattered to her, “The warriors are moving very quickly. They did more than just kill everyone here, they tore it apart except for those two shuttles.”

[They are looking for something, Jyren.]

It was easy to understand why the second part was kept to the link and only there.

Trying to put pieces together and make sense of things, he glanced over to the turbolift tubes which looked to still be operable...though a comm panel next to it was completely smashed. Jyren sighed and then realized all eyes were on him, including those of the marines who had finished checking bodies and looking for anything helpful. He was in command here...they were waiting.

“We need to get in contact with the bridge,” Jyren said, stating the obvious, “I doubt the Vong would have used the lifts to go up the decks so they’re likely either in the tubes themselves and climbing the things or taking the ducts and ventilation chambers between the decks.”

It was the marine Sergeant who nodded to that, “The bridge is four decks up.”

“Then lets check the turbolifts and get moving,” Jyren’s answer was quick, and as they started moving that direction, he said, “Leave five behind to guard Loki and watch our backs. Once we get to the bridge and figure out the situation, we’ll see what needs to be done with protecting the rest of the crew.”

[This doesn’t make sense.] he sent over the link. [The Vong don’t do this.]

[They’re looking for something.] Marix repeated herself in the same tone.

Thankfully, three of the four turbolifts were operational. The fourth had its door jammed and was likely the way many of the Vong were moving between the decks considering the odd damage to it. But as priorities had already been set, this was simply noted as they divided up amongst the other lifts and headed up to the bridge.

[Why here?] he was continuing the previous train of thought. [What could they possibly be looking for?]

Marix had no answer for that.

The ride in the turbolift was a short one, and in a few moments the door slid open to reveal the simple corridors that looked like most every other ship in the galaxy. Except that there were suddenly blaster rifles aimed at them.

“Hold your fire!” Jyren called out instinctively upon seeing the weapons and noting the marines with him(and Marix) beginning to raise their own weapons.

They stood face to face with a group of four other fleet marines, all wearing similar uniforms but with a patch on their shoulders that identified them as being attached to the Stardust. Upon realizing they were not looking into the face of Vong warriors, the four marines, who’s faces looked panicked, managed to slightly lower their weapons.

One of them managed to find her voice, “W-who are you?”

“We’re from the Araddon,” Jyren answered quickly, while trying to step out of the cramped turbolift. “We’re here to help where we can. Can you take us to the bridge?”

The woman nodded, then looked to a Duros to her side, “Take them quickly, Private. Return to us as soon as you can.”

“Thank you,” Jyren nodded to her as the Duros Private led the way down the corridors and through more than one heavily guarded areas that looked to be made of makeshift barricades. As they made it quickly through the corridors and towards the bridge, Jyren managed to get the marine with them to explain what was going on.

Apparently, the group of Vong warriors was a deck below, and the marines had already retreated to try to set up some kind of defense for the bridge. They had taken as many of the rest of the crew up with them, but a great deal had been left behind in the chaos...and were likely dead or soon to be dead. The remaining personnel had been handed weapons and were either preparing to assist in the defense of the bridge or taking up stations in places where others had been forced to leave for whatever reason.

From the sounds of things, it was a sort of controlled chaos...ready to explode at any second.

And then they reached the bridge.

Unlike the large bridge of a Star Destroyer, the Stardust had a bridge of roughly half the size, with stations along the walls and a series of consoles spread out in a half circle near the viewports in the front. There were also twice as many people there than was normal, and adding Jyren, Marix, Tobias, and five extra marines didn’t help how cramped it was.

The Duros that had led them there said something to a crewman without any rank insignia on his uniform, and then turned and nodded to the group before leaving and heading back to his post on the front line, as it were. Even in large red eyes that many found hard to see any emotion in, Jyren could tell the Duros was ready to die. Expecting to die. And it was a courage that Jyren had to admire.

But there wasn’t much time to, as soon after the marine had left, a man roughly Jyren’s age and wearing the markings of a New Republic Navy Captain turned and greeted them with a nod, “If you’re here to help, we need more guns protecting this bridge.”

Jyren looked to the marines with him, and two of them nodded and headed off the bridge to see what they could do. He then walked over to the man in charge and kept his voice as low as was possible considering the fact that the bridge was dealing with the battle outside and inside at the same time, “Sir, I need to know the situation here. This isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen from the Vong.”

“No, its not,” came the quick response as the Stardust’s Captain looked over a tactical display of the battle outside. A quick glance showed Jyren that the fight was moving very close to them.

Obviously, this man was preoccupied with other things and not up for conversation. However, Jyren’s mind was racing as he tried to make sense of everything, “It looks like they’re searching for something.”

That got the Captain’s attention. When he reaction was noticed, he just allowed himself a short nod. The man also was intelligent enough to not wait for the next question, “We were equipped with a prototype device to try and counteract the Vong War Coordinators at Ithor...it worked. But now...”

“...now its not, and the Vong are after it,” Jyren finished for him, starting to understand.

But he had no chance to ask anymore questions or gain more information. From the consoles in front of them, one of the crewmen called out, “Captain! The large Vong ship has broken through the line and is headed straight for that ring.”

At that, eyes went from the tactical display to the viewport. It was easy to see the Araddon firing away in the distance with a collection of various shapes returning fire. And out of it, from what was the back line of the Vong’s formation, came a ship...it was large, nearly the size of a Star Destroyer, and while it was still firing red-orange shots to her side at the New Republic fleet, it was suddenly bolting past the fight at a speed that seemed terrifying for a ship its size.

And something came through the Force then, too.

Suddenly, Jyren saw the Vong ship plow past the Stardust and the other defenses that were sent back to catch it. The turbolaser fire seemed to do nothing to the ship’s rocky hull as it shot past, straight for the Gateway. In a matter of seconds, it simply slammed right into the Gateway, tearing it apart and, as a testament to the strong craftsmanship of the huge Gateway, destroying the Vong ship along with it...but...

...but it was gone, and more Vong ships came through, ignoring the battle and heading straight for the open hyperspace route into Alraxian space.

“Evacuate the ship,” the words escaped Jyren before his eyes even returned to the reality of the moment.

The Stardust’s Captain turned to regard him with a look of shock, “I will not abandon my—“

”The turbolifts are clear for the moment. Get all the data you can, destroy that prototype, and get everyone off of this ship before the Vong get what they want and kill us all in the process,” Jyren’s voice was as harsh as Marix’s could be when she was giving orders. But when the Captain attempted to protest again, Jyren cut him off a second time, “There are more things on the line than a prototype, Captain.”

That seemed to get through. The man stood up straight, nodding slightly, but then asked an important question, “That Vong ship will get through.”

“No it won’t,” Jyren answered that without really answering it, “That’s my problem. You have more important things to do. Get these people out of here before you can’t.”

Truthfully, Jyren had cheated. He had used the Force to push his point, allowing it to resonate with is voice and tell the man no information at all while convincing him to do what Jyren suddenly knew had to be done. It was probably not a good thing to manipulate people like that, but there wasn’t a choice and there wasn’t time.

It wasn’t long before the ship’s Captain gave the order to evacuate, and the bridge crew headed out.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 415: Too Late

The bridge of the Stardust was soon empty save for Jyren, Marix, Tobias, and the two fleet marines who had accompanied them this far from the Araddon. The latter two, however, were being more or less completely ignored by the other three. Marix’s eyes were on Jyren, narrowed and managing a very piercing look that would likely have shot turbolaser bolts if they could have.

“You’re crossing a line.”

Jyren’s eyes met hers, holding the dangerous glare thanks to years of practice. He allowed silence to hold for a short moment before shaking his head, “It had to be done.”

The others in the room did not know what was being referred to, but that didn’t really matter. Jyren had used the Force to do something that he should not have done, and even if they didn’t know what, exactly, had happened, it was obvious that something odd had just occurred. The Captain and his crew had left far too easily and far too quickly.

[There was no other way.] he sent over the link, his ‘voice’ softer as he tried to push the images he had seen across the link to her.

Marix shook her head. [You are the one who has always told me that there is always another way. You are the one who has preached your idealistic view of the galaxy to me time and time again. And now you turn around and cross a line even I would never cross. You forced those people to leave...forced. That’s not like you at all.]

Hearing that, Jyren couldn’t help let out an audible sigh. After a moment to compose himself outwardly, he looked past the taller Marix to the two Fleet Marines, “Get out of here with the crew. Report back to the Admiral that this had to be done to save the most lives.”

The two marines looked to one another, and while they looked ready to protest for a moment, it passed. They nodded, saluted, and headed out. When the bridge door slid open again, Jyren could see the others that had been amassed there already moving, heading for escape pods or the turbolifts in hopes of reaching the hangar. They were listening. Good.

When the door slid shut again, he turned back to Marix and said firmly, “If this doesn’t happen the twins will die.”

It was a rather blunt statement, and while Marix could see the same thing he had thanks to the link, she knew very well that he was jumping to conclusions. It was possibly a correct conclusion, yes, but it was nothing he had seen for certain. Part of her wanted to hate how damned idiotic he could be when they were involved, but the rest of her completely understood...and kept to itself the fact that she would likely make the same kinds of stupid decisions to protect the twins.

In the next few moments that passed, Marix took in as much through the link as she could, quickly noting that Jyren was telling her what he was going to do through their link for a reason. He also took the time to morph back to his Alraxian form, now taller than her again, but back in a familiar body...which was an odd thought in its own right. But she took little notice of the physical change, as the majority of her focus was completely on the link...taking everything in and trying to find some way to fight the fact that he’d made up his mind and, like her, when it had come to that point it was usually far too late.

And so, she could only find one thing to ask, “Are you sure it will work?”

“Yes,” his answer was even and calm, and it was obvious that he meant it.

“Sure what will work?!” Tobias cut in, catching onto the fact that he was definitely missing something and knowing it was something fairly important.

The two other Alraxians, however, ignored him.

Marix, instead, took the time to walk closer to Jyren so that she could speak out loud, knowing it had a greater effect with him, while keeping her voice low enough that Tobias wouldn’t hear it. When she was close enough, she looked up to Jyren and asked quietly, “This is not just for the twins, though, is it?”

“No,” the response was just the same as before, but it was soon followed by Jyren’s usual tone that made him sound like the Jedi he’d always wanted to be, “You know they are first...but if we...if our people fall, then the Vong will have more forces to put on their main lines against the rest of the galaxy. If we hold them off here, we weaken them and can maybe help to turn the tides of all of this.”

All because of one ship...

Marix’s eyes darted over Jyren’s shoulder to the viewport. She could see the large, asteroid-like ship making its way from the main lines and towards them. It was so similar to what Jyren had seen, and she couldn’t help feel a chill because of it. One ship....just one ship.

When her eyes returned to Jyren, she found that she asked a question that had not had the decency to go to her brain before reaching her lips, “Are all of their lives worth ours?”

It was a terribly long half minute before Jyren answered that. He just looked down at her for most of it, and she saw something there that she’d never truly seen from him before. A cold determination that was...worrying, really. He’d been stubborn before, but this was something new, and, quite honestly, Marix simply didn’t know what to do. It didn’t help when he replied, “Yes...they are.”

And then it was plunged into silence again. Tobias stood farther back from them, staring and trying to remember how to read lips but failing miserably. He was intelligent enough not to move in closer to hear better, but also being driven crazy by the fact that something very important was happening, he was right there in front of it, and he had no idea in any hell what it was. Curiosity was very close to killing him.

Something else was closer to killing Marix, and after a moment, she simply shook her head again and growled under her breath, “Stop standing here and just do it before I stop you.”

She gave him no chance to respond, and quickly spun around, heading for Tobias and the exit to the bridge. But she only got one step before a tight grip suddenly latched onto her left arm. Her head spun back around to see Jyren had reached out to stop her, and while she knew she could easily get herself free, something about the look in his eyes stopped her.

Stopping fully, Marix turned around again to look him in the eyes. When she did, Jyren said softly, “Go as quickly as you can. Tell the twins that----“

”They know,” she cut him off quickly, hating what he was about to say and not wanting to hear a word of it, “And I will do what I can.”

Marix then tugged her arm back, not with any strength, but simply as a sign for him to let go...but he didn’t. She saw the same look was still there, and forced her feet to stay planted for another while trying not to turn around and drag him off with her. His voice barely above a whisper, Jyren asked, “Do you trust me?”

Holding his gaze for a long time, Marix wondered how she should answer that. He should know. By the Force, if he didn’t know that after a decade then he likely never would. She wanted to claw him for something like that, as it was downright insulting....but another part of her mind stepped in before she could. It held her back and showed her what she needed to do here, despite the fact that it didn’t really make sense as to why she should.

And so, Marix nodded and replied, “I do...if this is the only way, then it is the only way. But you cannot do this without letting go.”

The last sentence meant more than she had expected it to. Even Marix found herself surprised by the words, though immediately she understood them. And at that, after only a few more seconds of simply looking down at her, Jyren let go of her arm. This time, though, Marix found herself reaching up and resting a hand on his cheek for a short moment. She managed to force a smile onto her face, and watched Jyren return it before gently kissing her hand.

And then she pulled back, allowing herself one last, very long, look at him before returning her hand to her side and turning around in one swift motion. This time, Jyren didn’t stop her from going. Marix headed straight to Tobias, and when she got close to him, after noting he, too, had morphed back to his Alraxian body, she said sternly, “Time to go, Toby.”

“What?!” he cried out mainly due to the fact that she grabbed his arm in much the same way Jyren had grabbed her’s...but with a stronger grip so that he wouldn’t be able to pull away, “But what about—“

”Tobias,” Marix said in the same voice, this time louder, though, as she began to literally drag him to the door, “We are leaving.”

“No!” he yelled out, suddenly starting to understand what was going on. His eyes went wide and he attempted to wrench free of Marix’s grip, looking past her to where Jyren stood watching and trying his best to just stop her from doing this to him, “Let me go! I won’t leave him! We can’t!”

“Stop,” Jyren called, and Marix did, though she did not release Toby or even turn around to look back at Jyren.

Tobias’ eyes were on him, though, as he reached to his belt and detached the lightsaber from its place. For a second, Jyren simply looked down at the metal object, but it passed and he looked up to Tobias. In a quick motion, he tossed the lightsaber to the young Alraxian without saying a word.

Instinct meant that Tobias caught it with his free hand, but his mind caught up a moment later...which was also the same moment that Marix started moving again. He struggled and screamed as she pushed and dragged him to the door, but said nothing the whole time. Marix even ignored his claws digging into her arm to attempt to wrench himself free. She simply continued forward.

Jyren could not hear the hiss of the door opening through Tobias’ screaming, but he did hear it close. He heard the solid, metal bulkheads slide shut and then was left in silence. But he hadn’t moved...still standing and staring at the closed door.

He should have kissed her.

He should have told her that he loved her.

He should have said that he was sorry.

He should have begged her to stop him.

He should have done something.

No...no he just should have kissed her. Really kissed her. She would have hated it with Tobias right there, but he should have.

But he hadn’t.

He hadn’t done any of it, and now she was gone.

It was too late.

Too late for any of it.

Jyren nodded to himself and gave the door one last look before turning around to the viewport ahead of him. Seeing that the Vong ship had already broken past the New Republic fleet’s defenses and was nearly to the Stardust, Jyren went to the control consoles of the ship.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 416: End

They say your life flashes before your eyes right before you die. They say you see everything in a sudden moment of clarity before you never see anything again. They say that all of your hopes, dreams, doubts, fears, regrets...all of the things that have made you who you are get put on display in front of you.

They never say why.

No one ever really stops to think about whether it happens or not...

...but maybe that’s what all of this is.

My life.

No.

No, there was no idyllic vision of the events of my life leading up to the last moment. I wasn’t granted a retrospective view of it all. Instead, my eyes simply took in the massive, rocky Yuuzhan Vong starship ahead of me. They showed me the bright greens and reds of the turbolaser cannons I had trained on the ship, simply firing wildly to at least hit them with anything I could with the vain hope that some would make it through....and a few did. Rocks and shards of the ship were actually quite easy to see from the distance I was at as I shifted nearly all of the struggling Stardust’s power to her engines.

Behind me, there were the faint echoes of bangs on the door...likely much louder than I could hear them. In fact, I’m sure they were louder. And yet, for whatever reason, I barely heard them. They were...distant....almost dreamlike, as all of my focus was ahead of me. All of my attention on the moment, as Marix had taught me. And so, in front of me, everything was impossibly clear and vivid...

...or maybe that was because the Vong ship was growing in the viewport as the Stardust continued to charge forward with all of the speed her engines could manage. It amazed me how fast such a large ship could truly go while still firing away with everything that could aim towards her forward arc...doing everything she could in her final moments.

As the Yuuzhan Vong’s ship encompassed the entirety of the viewport and the collision alarms screamed at me through the bridge, I did not close my eyes. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

Not because I was afraid...or because I wasn’t afraid. In fact, fear had nothing to do with it.

I did see something. It was not my life...it was more important than my life. It was what I had lived for. It was everything that life meant to me. It was what I had made this decision for...what mattered. What truly mattered.

As clear as if they were there between my eyes and the bridge of the Stardust, I saw my children. I saw their smiling faces as I remembered them clearest...the image that got me through so many nights through the years. And with them, I saw Marix. She looked like she had the night we’d shared our first kiss under Alraxia’s three moons...as beautiful as ever.

I didn’t feel the impact.

I couldn’t.

I should have kissed her.

 

[aro]

sniff....does this mean it is all over? does this mean its all over for marix too? (since jyren is her nothlit doesnt his death mean her death?) great story...but sad!

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I'm going to be good and not answer those questions directly(...I want to...).

However, I'll answer them indirectly by asking this to all of you who read(and I nkow you're out there, I get about 150 or so pageviews per update).

So...come out of lurking to help me with this one thing! YES, there is more. NO, this isn't over. BUT...I present a choice. When I continue this(soon, can't let the dramatic moment hold for too long ), what would be best:

Continue in this thread OR start a new one.

I leave the choice to all of you...and if I don't get responses after a few days I'll just flip a coin!

 

[DethStryke]

This has become a huge thread, but I can click the "last page" button and it will skip directly to your last update. It takes at least five or more pages to do that, so starting a new thread would condemn me to a life of scrolling for the new installment...

Yes, I'm lazy. Why do you ask?

All joking aside, I don't know what the limit for the thread is... so depending on that, it may be a good idea to skip to a new thread and put up links to this one in the first post. Other than technical limitations, I don't really see the reason to start a new one.