NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 4046034" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 561: All Patched UpFor the moment, Marix had no time to be proud of anyone or anything.    After patching up Loki’s serious internal wounds on her own, it was surprisingly helpful to have someone else to assist with the external damage. Sure, Corran Horn had no idea about anything when it came to Kanyaks, but that didn’t seem to make him useless. In just under a standard hour, they had managed to attach a series of durasteel plates to Loki’s underside and a few portions of his damaged aft section above the main drives. The metal looked like horrible abominations on his skin, but they were affixed to Loki for a reason. Until he could be properly repaired, the plates would keep his hull sealed and prevent any further damage from the vacuum to the exposed sections of his body.    Sadly, Loki was still unconscious.    But despite this, Marix found herself gently running a hand along his underside, saying softly to her old friend, “You’re going to be alright.”    “What was that?” Horn looked over his shoulder to her, looking slightly confused. He was now covered in the same blue substance that Marix was, which was at least slightly humourous considering his beard was now flaked with blue.    “Nothing,” she replied simply enough, patting Loki’s hull one more time then turning to see the former Jedi Master cleaning himself as best he could with an old looking towel, “Thank you.”    The fact that Horn smiled behind the towel was only apparent to Marix after a few moments when he moved to wiping off his arms, “Happy to help. Booster seems to trust you and considering how much of a bastard he is, that says a lot.”    Booster didn’t trust her. Booster trusted Max and had taken her and Loki in out of respect for the old smuggler. Of course, Marix didn’t say that. It just didn’t seem appropriate considering the help. Now Loki was flight-worthy again, to the point where Marix even felt he could handle hyperspace. There would still be more strain on him than usual, but there shouldn’t be any risk of death after the makeshift repairs.    “Its an amazing design,” now it was Horn’s turn to run a hand along Loki’s hull, this time the underside of his ‘wing’ while taking a few steps over to where Marix stood, “It would be too much to ask to see the inside, though, wouldn’t it?”    Marix tilted her head in the slightest of nods. Her tail also flicked, but Horn either didn’t notice that sign of annoyance or didn’t understand what it meant. But he did seem to understand the nod, so Marix didn’t feel the need to say anything else. It was nice to find a Jedi that seemed to understand what the galaxy was actually like beyond their ideals.    Horn looked as if he was about to say something else, but stopped when he felt the same gentle shudder of the deck plates that Marix detected at her feet. It was the kind of effect that might go unnoticed by anyone that hadn’t spent a great deal of their lives aboard starships. The shudder only occurred on larger ships, but it was a clear sign of entry to or exit from hyperspace.    But while that may have been what got Horn’s attention, something else grabbed Marix. A formerly silent part of her mind flared up with activity. It was, to her sudden and odd disappointment, not her link with Jyren, though there was the smallest of moments of hope that it was. But it was similar. It wasn’t nearly as strong, but the Alraxian Network never was as strong as a link.    There was an Alraxian on Yavin.    No.    There was a Knight on Yavin.    “Are you alright?” though the other sounds of the hangar were generally quiet, Marix didn’t hear Horn’s question. Her eyes closed and she focused her thoughts. First, she reached out through the Force, finding Yavin IV not far away through pockets of life, then easily identifying the bright planet. It took only a few short moments to pick up on the familiar presence in the Force that was Tobias. And near him she could feel two other strong presences in the Force. One had to be the Knight. The other must have been Tobias’ Jedi Master, a thought that caused a slight sensation of annoyance.    [What is the situation, Knight?] Marix sent the message in Alraxian and rather forcefully. There was no need to identify herself. Every Knight knew what she felt like in the Network and in the Force.    There was a short moment of surprise from the Knight, then his ‘voice’ took over in the formal tone Marix hated so much. [I have just retrieved your son and another from the surface of the fourth moon, my lady. We should reach an escape vector in under five standard minutes but the enemy forces are moving to intercept.]    The way he spoke combined with his general feeling in the Force caused Marix to actually remember him. He was not one of the former Tam’Day’U that had become part of the Knights, which made it even more odd that she could recognize him from just a voice and a feeling. But she did. His name was Varis, and the reason Marix knew him was because he was one of the longest-serving, and highest-ranking of the Knights. He had been loyal to her mother, and was one of the first to step up and volunteer for the reconnaissance missions outside the Empire.    Marix’s eyes opened to see Horn talking into a comlink. Realizing she had stepped out of the moment and let her other senses fade, Marix cursed herself and actually went back to listening.    The first thing she heard was Booster’s booming voice coming out of that tiny comlink, “...an entire kriffing fleet and Skywalker wants us to fight it alone? I’m going to have a long talk with that kid the second my grandkids are safe. Speaking of which, get your backside up here!”    “On my way, Booster,” it was amazing that Horn could be so casual after the tirade that had escaped the comlink. Sliding the small device back into his pocket, Horn caught the look on Marix’s face and smiled, “Put a man in jail once and he never seems to forget about it. Especially when you marry his daughter.”    As the Jedi turned to leave the hangar, Marix spoke up, “Corran.”    She hadn’t actually used his first name in the entire time he’d been helping her. That chance caught his attention, and he turned around to regard her with a raised eyebrow but no words. Marix unfolded her arms from across her chest and said, “My son is out there on a ship like mine. They’re leaving Yavin’s atmosphere right now and they’re going to need cover.”    Corran understood what she wasn’t saying, and so nodded, “I’ll tell Booster the second I get up to the bridge. But if they’re in a ship like yours, its going to be hard to tell it apart from the Vong. Yours wasn’t broadcasting any IFF signals when we found you.”    Ah, yes. Loki had one, but it was something that was only active while he kept it that way. Being unconscious meant there was no IFF being broadcast, so a Kanyak like that could easily look like a Von ship. Of course, every Kanyak in this part of the galaxy would have the right transmitter installed to avoid that kind of difficulty. That, however, was not something Marix felt needed to be relayed. Besides, the help she needed was given and there was no further use to staying where she was aboard the Errant Venture.    “Tell him I appreciate the help,” Marix was talking while her mind was working out a plan, “If he ever needs anything...if you need anything, Corran, use that comlink in your left jacket pocket.”    With another small nod, she then turned and walked to Loki’s access hatch. After manually opening it, she headed in and made her way to the cockpit. [Loki is damaged, Varis, but I am on my way to you. I’ll provide cover for you to get yourself and my son out of the system alive.]    [Yes, my lady.] Varis was intelligent enough not to argue with his superior, especially when it was his Empress speaking the orders. [I am plotting a course for the Gateway as we speak and should be able to make the jump as soon as Horus is out of the system’s gravity well.]    Dropping down into the pilot’s chair and starting up the Loki’s systems as carefully as she could, Marix shook her head. [No. The other you picked up should be a Jedi Master. Let him provide your destination.]    As Loki began to gently lift off of the hangar deck and spin around to exit the Star Destroyer, Marix realized that in only a few minutes she’d done two things very out of character for herself. Not only had she given Corran Horn a comlink specifically connected to Loki’s unique comm frequency, but she’d also just told a Knight to listen to a Jedi Master.     If Jyren could see her now...gods, he probably wouldn’t even recognize her covered in all this blue gunk! Marix made a note to take a good long shower the second she had a free moment. But a free moment wasn’t likely to come soon. She was about to fly her unconscious ship right into a Yuuzhan Vong fleet. After she managed to survive that and got Loki to hyperspace, there was a Vong to question locked in one of the small rooms towards the rear of the ship. And then...well...something would probably come up after that.</blockquote>

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