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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3134366" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 406: ProtectionJyren and Venda stood in the small briefing room near the bridge of the Araddon, with only the Admiral Tarus and Rulae as the other two in the room. Jyren had arrived last, having taken a quick detour to his quarters to check on Tobias...and had then seen the message that Marix had sent.    Being greeted by armed marines had been expected. The medical team had quickly moved them out of the way as it was...but when he saw that message, an icy chill had fallen over Jyren. Everything was coming together to a horrible point that he could feel there, just as Marix could. And so, the entire way up to the briefing room, his mind had whirled around how to do what had to be done.    Currently, the Jedi woman was going over everything she had found out. Though it was a good deal of information, it hadn’t taken too terribly long to get it all out. It was as the Admiral and the Commodore were working the information through their brains that Jyren decided to speak up.    “The Vong are going to attack that point,” he said in a surprisingly restrained voice considering the current insanity in his head.    Again, the two officers looked at the projection of the galaxy map. It was the Admiral who spoke up, in slow, cautious tones, “Light years from the Imperial Remnant...practically the Unknown Regions...” he trailed off a moment, then looked up to Jyren, “There is nothing there, Captain. Even if there is, it is behind the front line. I fail to see why this has you so distressed.”    Jyren hadn’t realized he was so easy to read, but when the words were spoken, he wasn’t so surprised. Trying to focus his thoughts to make sense of everything and get where he needed to be, Jyren looked straight to his Duros friend, “Rulae, you reported the information about that Gate I showed you after we got back, yes?”    Commodore Nok nodded, “Of course.”    “I remember reading that report,” the Admiral noted, shifting his glance to Jyren yet again, “But I still fail to see the relevance to our current situation.”    Stepping over to the holo that was currently being projected in the center of the circular table in the room, Jyren put his finger right on top of the red dot that was representing the point of interest that Venda had found, “That is exactly where the Gate is.”    And this was it. The secret that he was supposed to be protecting was gone. But Jyren didn’t care now. This still wasn’t enough. He still wasn’t there yet, and he could feel the darkness coming. Be it the Mrrakesh or the Vong...or both...he needed to be back to Alraxia as soon as possible.    To the others in the room, well, the two officers at least, things began to make sense. Keeping a very diplomatic tone, Admiral Tarus said, “I understand your concern, Captain, and I believe I know what you are wanting to do. However, our orders are to return to Corellia for supplies that you know we badly need. Despite that, though, you should know very well that we cannot take a fleet to some unknown location just to protect your family.”    Jyren was barely holding a neutral face, keeping back the anger at all of that which was, in the end, irrational. He bit his lip, shook his head, then turned to Venda, who was giving him a rather concerned look, “You said the Vong are after something, yes?”    She nodded carefully, “From the information I recovered, there was something at that location of great interest to the Yuuzhan Vong. Its impossible to say what but...one would expect it to be some kind of advantage they could gain in the war if they are diverting resources that far back from the front line.”    Perfect! Jyren held back a smile. She had said exactly what he’d hoped, and in such a way to show it was important. He had a damn good idea what the Vong were interested in. How they knew was beyond him, but the very idea of the Alraxian natural ability to change their form, in addition to their technology, was definitely something that could interest even the Vong.    Eyes then turned to Jyren, even Venda’s, as if waiting for something. When that something didn’t come, the Admiral spoke up again, “You seem to agree with this, Captain. As you say it is your home...what is there that would interest the Vong so?”    It was extremely difficult to hold the Admiral’s gaze. Marix’s, Jyren could manage...but something now...he just couldn’t do it. After only a few moments, he shook his head and broke away, glaring down at the table and nearly hitting it. Through gritted teeth, he ground out, “I can’t tell you. Its not my right to.”    The odd statement was not lost on any of the others. Rulae was the one to push it, “You have come this far, Jyren. If you cannot tell us, you wouldn’t have done any of this. What is so important about your home?”    “I can’t...” he trailed off, his voice just barely audible. He took a few deep breaths and then looked up again, the desperation very obvious on his face now as he spoke, “The people there are defenseless against the Vong. That Gate is all there is, and it will not last. If the Vong take the Gate they will do worse than kill my people. They need my...they need our help. They would never, ever ask for it, but they need it.”    Silence held for a moment.    “Captain,” the Admiral’s voice was still calm, but not obviously attempting to calm Jyren down, “We cannot take this fleet to protect those people without knowing why. I cannot disobey Admiral’s Kre’fey’s orders without a damn good reason. You have one. I don’t need to be a Jedi to see that. But if you do not tell me, I cannot take this fleet there.”    Jyren stared at the Admiral. The man was actually considering it...but...but Jyren couldn’t say it. Marix was going to kill him enough as it was but...if he didn’t...    “I need you to trust me, sir,” Jyren’s voice was slow as he found himself having trouble making the words come out.    It was not the answer that was hoped for, but it was all that Jyren could manage. That Admiral blinked a few times before shaking his head and sighing, “You have lied about who you are, refused to tell anyone where you really come from, and continue to hide a great deal of information that could very well remove all of this suspicion that is following you around, Akan. How can I trust you, Captain?”    He had no answer to that. The fact that the Admiral knew the name “Akan” more or less destroyed it all for Jyren. His hand was shaking now, and he tried to grip the table to stop it as he looked to Admiral Tarus, hoping to find something but unable to. Unable to make the man do what had to be done, knowing that he could force the Admiral to go, but also knowing that forcing the man was against everything he was.    “He is being honest,” the voice of the Jedi woman cut through the silence like a vibroblade. All eyes, including Jyren’s, darted to the blonde woman. She seemed to have no problem letting the eyes simply pass through her and then directing a pointed look to the Admiral, “The Captain is not lying. He is protecting these people as best he can, and I can feel that telling us anything about them existing is bad enough...but the Vong are interested in them, even if we are not. They will go one way or another, Admiral. And the Captain is not lying to you that they will meet no substantial resistance if you do not take your fleet to protect them.”</blockquote>

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