Alien Crossfire Chapter 3

Previous Chapter

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As he slowly climbed up from out of the white of agony, he wondered for a split second how long he had been in this room. How long he had been tortured like this. Seasoned like this.

How long he had been without the Force.

He looked around, and saw the bundle of feathers in the corner which meant that Vergere was there once more to have a discussion with him. He sighed, not truly wanting to have it, but knowing that there really was no way around having it.

Almost as if she had sensed his thoughts, her eyes popped open and she lifted her head, her beak opening in an approximation of a smile, the crest of feathers on her head, rising and shifting to oranges and red.

"Good morning, little Solo. How are you today?"

He stared at her for a second. "Why are they doing this? The torture, the breaking, I almost understand. But they never ask me questions."

Her head cocked slightly. "Who is to know the mind of our Masters?"

"Why are you here?"

Her head slowly tilted to the other side, the orange feather crest shifting to the golden yellow which Jacen had learned to associate with her surprise. "Why to help you of course."

"Help? Then you’re letting me go?"

She cawed a laugh. "Why ever would you think that little Solo? Besides that is not help."

Jacen felt his mouth drop open. "Why wouldn’t letting me go free be helping me? If that’s not help then what’s your definition of it?"

She bobbed her head. "You are right; our problems might be a linguistic one. But I still say that I am helping you."

"This doesn’t feel like helping."

She spread her wings wide. "Be that as it may. Tell me little Solo, how do you think I should help you?"

"Let me go. Let me out and then help me escape."

Vergere hunched down, folding her legs beside her. "I have a story to tell you little Solo. When I was young, younger than you, and was just beginning to understand and embrace the Force, I had a pet; a shadowed moon moth. I found the larva and nurtured it throughout its cocoon state. Then, there at the end of its transformation, I could feel its desperation in the Force. The cocoon is very tough, very hard to break open, and the creature’s struggles, its fear and confusion, washed over me in the Force."

Jacen listened to her story in silence, his horror growing at her every word. He knew where this was going. He had had a shadowed moon moth in his menagerie while growing up. The years of feeding it stripped insulation and crumbled duracrete. The weeks of it being in the cocoon. And finally that long, torturous night when it struggled to escape, to complete its transformation from the larval grub to a fully grown moon moth.

"Please tell me you didn’t."

Slowly, Vergere nodded her head. "Sadly I did. I gave the creature what I think you mean as help. I took my utility cutter and sliced open the cocoon, freeing the creature."

"No."

"Oh yes, little Solo. It was a pitiful creature. Even the wing-flutes were stunted and broken. It was as mute as it was planet-bound." She gave another sad shake of her head. "I robbed that creature of its destiny because I 'helped' it."

Jacen frowned for a second. "But that’s not what help is either?"

"Then what is it?"

Jacen opened his mouth to respond, and then clamped it shut again. He let out a small sigh. "I don’t know."

Vergere’s feather crest rose in amusement again. "Then how can you continually ask for it?"

"I, I don’t know."

Vergere bounced up. "The Embrace has grown impatient. But before I go, tell me little Solo, what should I have done about the moon moth?"

"Protected it. Kept it away from hawk-bats."

She tilted her head slightly in amusement. "And keep other well-meaning persons with utility cutters away?"

Jacen empathically nodded his head. "Yeah."

"And maybe, just maybe, occasionally stop by, and let the little moon moth know that it’s not alone?"

Jacen felt like another bomb had gone off in his head.

"Wait."

Vergere smiled at him, and started to hop away.

"Vergere wait! You’re not talking about a moon moth, you’re talking about us. And, and the moon moth is an indigenous species. It’s native to Coruscant."

The door closed behind her with a wet slurping side.

"Vergere!"

Then the Embrace pulled him up off the floor; tightening the leathery vines which were attached to his arms, wrists, legs and ankles, and began to twist his body out of shape.

"Vergere!"

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The Embrace released him once more. His throat was parched, a desert which scalded every fiber of his being.

He opened his eyes to find Vergere sitting there, a gourd in her hand. She hopped over to him, and pressed the gourd to his lips. Water, cool and clean, flowed from it, and Jacen’s throat clenched, and he gagged and coughed. His body hitching from the intrusion of the water, the twisting motion sent fresh waves of agony through out his body.

Calmly, and effortlessly, Vergere ripped a piece of her robe off, and wet it in the water. She then placed the sodden piece of cloth-flesh in his mouth, where he greedily sucked the water from it. She did this for a long while. Simple motions which sated the fire in his throat.

Finally she once more raised the gourd to his lips, allowing the clean, cool water to flow past them, and down his throat. He sighed, happy in the simple pleasure of the water.

"Have you ever wondered what pain is? Our Master’s believe it is a gift. The one true gift from the Gods, that allow them to know that they are still alive. That they are here. Me, I believe that pain is a god itself. The driving task-master of life. That divine thing which is common to all life, and pushes all life forward. After all, consider this; if you stop feeling pain, then you are dead."

Jacen looked up at her, wondering just how insane she was. "I don’t care how dead you say I am it still hurts."

Vergere laughed. "Of course, that the dead are beyond pain is a matter of faith. One which I do not feel quite up to testing at this time." She hesitated for a moment, her head cocked slightly to the side. "Could pain also be a teacher?"

"And what am I supposed to be learning?"

"Is it what the teachers teaches or what the student learns?"

Jacen felt himself growing frustrated. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Vergere shrugged. "Who can say?"

He lowered his eye, too tired to watch the parade of colors as they flashed across the crest of feathers on her head. "I just wish you could be where I’m at. Feel what I feel."

Her cawing laughter was loud in the small chamber. "Who is to say that I haven’t been?"

Jacen just looked at her confusion clouding his face.

She tilted her head to the side again. "So back to my question, do you think pain is a teacher?"

Jacen lifted his eyes towards her. "I don’t know. I just want the pain to stop."

Vergere seemed to deflate, and turned away from him, she barked a short self-deprecating laugh. "Oh deception, how cruel it is. And of course self-deception is the most cruelest of them all. All this time, I thought I was speaking to an adult. A true Jedi. But you are nothing more than a babe. A wailing infant, crying for its mother's teat."

"What? But I didn’t do anything!"

Vergere turned back towards him, the crest of feathers on her head flattened tight against her skull as she stared at him. Her black, fathomless eyes pierced his soul. Silence hung on the air, heavy and accusing.

I didn’t do anything.

It rang in his ears, an illusionary echo which caused Jacen’s face to begin to burn in embarrassment. Vergere leaned in close to him, her hook beaked mouth centimeters away from Jacen’s nose.

"Exactly! And is that not the babe’s actions? To kick its feet, ball the tiny fists and wail, while it hopes that an adult will stumble by and take care of it?"

Jacen looked down at his hands, feeling his face burn in his embarrassment. She’s right.

She placed a feathered hand on his shoulder. "Let me give you a gift. You are alone. No one is going to come rescue you." Her voice dropped an octave. "Everyone thinks you are dead."

Realization slammed into him. No one is going to rescue me. Not Uncle Luke, not Mom or Dad or Jaina or Tenel Ka. I’m dead. I’m helpless.

Jacen tightened his jaw and looked up at her. She stared back, her gaze calm and level. "There. Now you are free. You don’t have to worry about waiting around for a rescue."

"But what do I do? What can I do?"

She shrugged her shoulders, her crest lifting and twisting into orange once more. "Whatever you want. Whatever you accept to do. Of course one of your options is to stay here in the Embrace. Do you know what will happen?"

Jacen slowly shook his head. "No."

She smiled cheerfully. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Maybe one day you’ll go insane. Eventually you’ll die." She paused and did one of those odd tilts of her head before she continued speaking. "Of old age."

The full import of that statement slammed into Jacen, leaving him breathless. She was talking about him being here forever. Never getting out, never escaping. Not days or weeks or months in the white.

Not just years.

But for the rest of his life.

He sucked in a deep breath.

"Of course there is the other option?"

He looked back up at her. "And that is?"

"Learn from the pain."

Then she was gone again, leaving Jacen alone with his thoughts.

They’re not coming for me. No one is. I’m all alone. Helpless.

He gave his head a quick shake.

No. Not helpless, just alone. They’re not the same thing.

The Embrace pulled him up off the floor, dropping him back into the white, as he considered all the things that Vergere had told him.

That he was alone.

That pain is a god.

That pain is the task-master of life.

That pain is a teacher.

So what had he learned?

That it was all those things and more.

Then the realization came to him. He was in the white. The mind-shattering agony which he had already spent a lifetime in. And he could think clearly and sanely.

He grinned. For weeks or months or days the white had been eating at him. Biting away at his sense of self, his sanity.

Now he began to eat the white.

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Tsavong Lah was settled in his meditation chambers, his inner sanctum. His body twisted by the Embrace of Pain which was at the heart of the room. It had him lifted up off the floor, his arms pulled back so that his shoulder blades were nearly touching, and his ankles were being ground together. Jets of boiling water crashed against him, clouds of steam wafted through the room.

For Tsavong Lah, the pain was a focus, a point of concentration, which allowed him to grasp reality in a clearer form than at other times; especially when he was in the clouds of white steam of his cleansing room.

He felt that he saw better, thought clearer and reacted more in line with reality as a whole.

Pain was a bridge from his limited understanding to the mind of the gods.

The door tongue slushed open, and Tsavong Lah lifted his head as a cool draft washed over him. The wind was a shock to his system, an almost painful change from the boiling water and steam. He saw Seef, his communications assistant, stepping into his cleansing chambers, holding a villip in her hands.

"Did I not say I was cleansing? How dare you disturb me?"

"Belek Tiu, Warmaster. My life in payment, but this requires your urgent attention."

She laid the villip before him, and then pulled her coufee out, placing the tip of the weapon, against her throat. The Warmaster watched disinterested, knowing that she will kill herself for having seen him nude. He frowned for a second, and decided that he can use her, both to fulfill a command handed down from Shimmra, as well as to spread the fact that his implant had not been rejected yet.

"Wait."

She paused, the tip of the blade just disappearing into her neck. Her eyes flicked up at him, and he tilted his head towards his private chambers, a silent command, which left no doubt about his intentions.

"Prepare yourself. The warriors have all been commanded to procreate."

She nodded her head perfunctorily and put away her coufee. On her face there was no hint of if she considered this a better fate than death. He stroked the villip, causing it to invert, becoming the scarred visage of Nas Choka.

He noticed that Seef had retreated back against the wall, and knelt, awaiting his command. He turned his attention back to Nas Choka.

"Report."

"My Lord, a New Republic fleet has retaken the world Borelias. A lightning fast attack against the garrison we had left there, one so quick, they were not able to get out a warning."

Tsavong Lah frowned, as he considered the implications. "We knew they would do something after our taking of their throne world. Send Wyrpuuk Cha’s fleet to liberate it. Domain Kraal despises Domain Cha. I can’t think of a better punishment against Kraal for not holding Borelias than being indebted to Domain Cha."

Nas Choka bowed his head in submission. "It will be done, Warmaster."

Still lost in his thoughts, Tsavong Lah released himself from the Embrace. Standing, he gestured to Seef and stepped through the door and into his sleep chambers.

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Next Chapter

I Want to be Your Knight Chapter 13

Previous Chapter

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Three hours.

Three hours of getting the kark smacked out of me by those two girls. And despite Jys' pronouncement that the sparring session was each of us against one another, and everyone against the remotes, that's not how it played out. Oh, no. It was the girls beating on me, as all the remotes aimed for me.

And four points? I don't know what she was thinking when she declared that it would stop at four points. She probably already had it all planned out.

When every remote suddenly went dead at the end of the three hour time block that Jys had programmed into the system, I collapsed to my knees, my breath coming out in pants. I glanced up at Seha and Jys and noticed that neither of the girls appeared as tired as I did. Of course, the remotes weren't aiming for either of them.

I glared at Jys, and she just smiled sweetly at me in return.

Before I could call her all sorts of interesting things that I had learned in the Guard, Kyp's voice came out of the speakers hidden behind the walls. "That was a good warm-up, but you three are supposed to be a team. Now... work together."

I lifted my head and stared at the reflective transparisteel plate where the control room was. I could feel Kyp's amusement through the Force and my stomach dropped to my feet as gravity suddenly reversed, flipped and then re-oriented once again on the far wall.

We crashed against the ceiling/floor/wall, all of us groaning from the impact and disorientation from the suddenness of the gravity shift.

We were tangled together, a mass of bodies and limbs. I shook my head, and opened my eyes to realize that my face was pressed tight against Jys' stomach. If she wasn't in the training armor, I would have enjoyed it much more.

I began the process of disentangling myself from the two girls and rolled away from them to sit on my rump and gather my bearings in the new gravity orientation. The door leading out to the hall was now half way up one wall, jutting outwards from the right angle where it met the next bulkhead. On the ceiling, nearly opposite of us, was the control room.

Vertigo washed over me as my mind tried to assimilate Kyp standing there behind that window. I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed at my temples. Then heard the small puffing noises of remotes. Lots of them.

A whole lot.

I opened my eyes and looked, and felt my mouth drop open as I saw them.

My guess would be that Kyp had emptied the Jedi store room of the things.

I stood up and called my saber to my hand. Suddenly, cables shot out from every surface snapping to some alternate surface, creating a maze out of a gymnast's nightmares.

The door to the room opened, and three droids floated in. I recognized these, having trained against them years ago. In fact I was training with one the first time I met Seha. She had been amazed when I thought up a quick way to beat one of them. Basically, they are large bins with a mag-rail canon that shoots out metal balls. Four years previously, the metal balls were about the size of both my hands clasped together. But that had been changed-these droids were outfitted with a number of different sized balls, ranging from the size of a ball bearing to the size of a grown human head.

All metal. All flying at you as fast as the droid could toss them.

And all containing a small shield generator so that our sabers wouldn't scratch them.

I stood up slowly, igniting my saber, as I allowed my gaze to flicker from one threat to the next.

Then I turned towards the control booth. "Are you insane, Kyp?"

Laughter greeted me. "I took you as an apprentice didn't I? Don't worry-I have faith in you three. And I only set the training room on 8-5.7-3-5."

I groaned. The training rooms had 4 different control variables each represented by one of those numbers. The first was the difficulty in opponents. Most Masters trained on a setting of 5-7, with groups of them taking the numbers above that. It controlled how smart and aggressive the automatic opponents were.

The second number was the terrain we were faced with. Things like the cables. A setting of 5.7 meant cables every 70 centimeters.

The third number was gravity. There were three options there. One for standard. Two for none. Three for varying. The fourth number was tied to the gravity variance option, and represented how often the gravity would change.

So, while it was not the hardest configuration for the room, it was harder than anything any of us had ever faced before. Either by ourselves or in with a group of other trainees.

Jys and Seha ignited their sabers as well, and we moved so we were standing in a tight circle, with our backs faced inwards, shoulders touching.

Kyp's voice rang out. "Begin."

A wall of stinger darts flashed towards me, and I was subsumed by the Force. My blade flickered around me, batting away blaster bolts and the metal balls, being careful not to send any towards either of the girls.

A niggle of annoyance wormed its way into my head, and as I became aware of it, my ability to block shots faltered and four slammed into my right leg before I had even realized they were there. While I was reacting to the Force, there was something I had forgotten.

Jys suddenly screamed out, "Grav change!"

And I remembered what I had forgotten. Five minutes per gravity setting.

Gravity flickered around the walls, pulling us every which way. I stretched out my hand, and felt my fingers clasp on the edge of Jys' armor as she fell away from me. Muttering a curse under my breath, I snagged one of the cords stretched around the room and used it to slow my fall; which gave me a few seconds to bat stinger bolts away.

Suddenly gravity settled again, and I found myself about a third of the wall up one of the walls. I jumped towards it, and then rebounded with a touch of the Force to accelerate me, aiming myself at one of the ball droids. I arrived at the droid, and shoved my saber into the sensor-spot to deactivate it.

I barked a laugh, and then as I slammed into the ceiling, I realized that I was still a good ten meters in the air.

I dropped like a stone until I hit the first cable, which knocked the wind out of me.

Rolling off that, I started to fall again, and four stinger bolts slammed into my chest, making it impossible for me to catch my breath.

Then there was another cable.

This one I managed to catch, and I swung down to the next cable beneath me as I finally began to breath properly again. It was then that I noticed there weren't that many stingers heading my way.

Frowning, I looked around for Jys and Seha, and couldn't see them. Pulling off my helmet so I could get a better view, I looked again and then cursed as I saw Seha on the ground, her leg bent at an odd angle, Jysella standing over her, batting bolts away from them both.

I snarled and pushed off from the cord, hurtling through the air towards them, pulling the Force to me.

The remotes sensed my movement, and half of the ones that were focused on the girls swung around towards me, towards the spot that they knew I was going to land.

I grinned. The remotes fired before I had even finished falling. The stingers arriving at my landing spot mere milliseconds after me. 50 spurts of energy which I sucked into my body with the Force, converting it into raw Force energy.

I could feel the power leaking out of me, burning at my cells, and I knew I needed to get rid of it fast. Then another barrage struck me, and I absorbed and converted those bolts as well.

Closing my eyes again, I reached out with the Force and grabbed every remote and both of the droids, and threw them at the ceiling as hard as I could. There was a shrill screech of metal and explosions, and I jumped towards the girls, tackling Jysella, covering both her and Seha with my body. I felt a slice of heat across my cheek as I threw up a Force Shield.

Shrapnel was raining down on us, bouncing off my shield, even as Jysella pounded on the arm that I was holding her down with.

Finally the last piece of wreckage had fallen to the ground, and I lowered my shield, sitting up off of Jysella and Seha. Exhaustion pulled at me, demanding I sleep.

Jysella had sat up, already screaming at me, "Why the kriff did you do-"

Her sudden stop in mid-rant drew my attention, and I worked to focus on her. She was staring at me, surprise etched on her face. Then I switched attention to Seha who had a look of horror on hers.

I frowned. "What?"

Seha whispered, "Oh Ben, I'm sorry..."

Then as my frayed nerves began to reset themselves after that excessive use of Force energy, I felt the heat in my face again. I touched it, and pained shot through me. Pulling my hand away, I looked down and didn't see any blood on my hand.

It was too much to figure out at that moment though. We had sparred for three hours, and then I had used a lot of Force energy in that last move, taxing my body beyond what it would normally do. While I knew that I could absorb blaster bolts like that, it always wore me out to do so, and as always holds true, for every action there is a reaction.

I needed to get to a bed, and soon.

I stood up, Jys' and Seha's necks pivoted so they could continue to look at me, so they could continue to stare at my face for some reason. As I reached my full height, the world wavered and the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor, my nose centimeters from Jys' knee.

In that state, too worn out to move, I almost thought I felt the light touch of Jys' fingers brushing against my hair.

I almost thought I heard Jys whisper, "Oh, Ben."

Too tired to do anything else, I closed my eyes and allowed exhaustion to claim me.

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Next Chapter

Family Found: Chapter 10

Previous Chapter

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Mara Jade was leaning back in her Council seat, listening to the latest reports from the war. Around her were all of the available Masters and directly next to her was her husband. She glanced towards him, his blue eyes focused intently on the Galactic Guard Lieutenant. His prosthetic hand, cupping his lower face, the thumb pressed beneath his chin and the arc of the pointer finger lying over the lips.

It was a pose that she had seen him take thousands of times before. Whenever there was something preying on his mind or a tidbit of activity that he was thinking hard about, that was a mannerism that he adopted.

It was a sure sign to her that he was intently listening.

And for a moment, she wondered why she was having so much trouble paying attention.

She allowed her self to carefully look around the room. Her eyes lingering for a moment on each of the Masters; noting that they too were paying attention to the young lieutenant with nearly the same focus as Luke.

She closed her eyes and probed the Force, hunting for the cause of her sense of disquiet.

And was met with images of a dark hallway and inaudible whispers.

She lifted her right hand, the nail of her thumb slipping between her teeth as she started to worry at it. Realizing that she was about to bite off her fingernail she dropped her hands into her lap and twined her fingers together.

She saw a flicker of interest from the lieutenant in her movements and she pushed down a burst of annoyance at being noticed.

The sense of something being off slowly changed to a pressure, a knowing that something was about to happen. And that that something was not necessarily a good thing.

One of her hands shifted down to her lightsaber. Another movement noticed by the lieutenant.

If the pressure in the Force was not growing so large, so ominous, she was certain that she would be disturbed and annoyed by being so closely watched by a non-Jedi.

Then the pressure crested – shifting from the knowledge that something was about to happen to the knowledge that something dangerous was happening at that precise moment.

In an eyeblink she was up out of her seat, twisting in a circle trying to find the source of the danger.

Ben!

And with that heartbeat of intuition she knew that the danger was not directed towards her or Luke, but towards their son.

Then the room rumbled as an earthquake shook the Temple.

Luke looked up at the ceiling and then towards Kam. "I thought that the Temple was built on stable ground away from any fault lines."

Before Kam could reply, Mara spoke up. "Not important, Luke. Ben's in trouble."

"What do you mean?"

Mara did not answer. Instead she turned towards the windows and stared out across the landscape of Ossus, facing the distant mountain ranges where the old Jedi Library stood.

She pulled out her comlink and thumbed it on, her fingers twisting the dial automatically to the frequency Ben's comlink uses. "Ben?"

Static returned to her and she frowned down at the device.

Turning back towards her husband, she asked, "Where did he say they were going?"

"He said something about visiting the catacombs beneath the old Jedi Library."

Without another word, she stormed out of the Council Chambers, Luke following close on her heels. His comlink chirped and he pulled the device out and activated it.

"This is Luke."

Tahiri's voice came to him over the device, thin and scratchy with the distance between them. "Master Skywalker, is something wrong with Noelani? I can feel her distress and fear."

Mara grabbed the comlink from Luke. "Did she go somewhere with Ben?"

"Yes."

Mara sighed and glared over her shoulder at Luke for a moment. "We just had some type of earthquake. I felt a pulse of fear from Ben immediately after it."

"I'm on my way back to Ossus now."

"Fine. We'll meet you at the old Jedi Library when you get here."

She turned off the device and threw it at Luke. "This is all your fault."

"Mine?"

She glowered at him, her fists clenching and unclenching unconsciously. "So Noelani went with them. Who else?"

"I think he said something about Poll Syth and Kor Res'al."

Mara nodded her head. "Poll doesn't have a Master, but we need to talk to Kor's."

She turned away again, as she heard Luke trying to get a hold of Thann Mithric on the comlink. She glanced around, trying to figure out her location in the Temple and then making up her mind turned left, heading towards the garage.

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Tahiri shrugged into her heavy parka, and glanced at Han and Leia. "Sorry. I have to go. I… I'll let you know about what you want me to do."

Leia took her hand, giving her a calm smile. Tahiri's heart hitched at it, and she fought the urge to drop to her knees and cry.

"Trust the Force, Tahiri, and let us know how things turn out. Are you sure you don't want us to go to Ossus with you?"

Tahiri bit at her lower lip, her eyes flickering between Leia and Han, seeing the concern etched into both of their faces. She wanted them to come, but knew that if they do someone would probably try to arrest them again.

Finally she shook her head, fighting back her tears. "No. I don't want to risk the two of you being arrested."

Han spoke up. "The Kid wouldn't do that, not while Ben's in trouble."

Tahiri frowned for a second. "I… I don't think I would trust Master Skywalker even that much."

Tahiri lowered her head, noticing as she does so that Han and Leia shared a look between each other. Finally, Han spoke again. "Why do you say that? Has he down something? Well something even more stupid than trusting my son?"

Tahiri shook her head. "No. Nothing. I guess it's just a Jedi thing. I've got to get back to Ossus now." She threw her arms around Leia's neck. "I hope I'll be able to see you soon."

Leia returned the hug. "It will be all right."

Tahiri dropped back to the flat of her feet and turned towards the ramp, walking down it as it lowered. Then the wind cut through even her heavy parka, stealing her breath and warmth.

Hunching her shoulders against the wind, she slowly made her way over the frozen ground heading towards the Stolen Star where she rested a couple dozen meters away from the Falcon's boarding ramp.

She thumbed a small device in her pocket, and a seam appeared towards the rear of the craft – the Star's boarding ramp lowering into position. As she arrived she glanced back towards the Falcon once again, wondering if she would get to see Han and Leia again, or if Jacen would capture them first.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she quickly boarded the ship, sealing the ramp behind her. Then she was climbing the short ladder into the cockpit and preparing for launch. Rushing off in what she knew was a vain effort to get to her apprentice.

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Thann Mithric sat in a classic meditation pose, happy at the solitude afforded him because his apprentice was off playing with some of the other Jedi trainees her own age. His awareness was diffused out, stretching across the entire Temple, feeling the ebbs and flows of the Jedi and the non-Jedi as they went about their business.

The harsh tone of the door buzzer drew him back into his body, abruptly ending his meditation. Frowning slightly, he heaved himself to his feet and walked the short distance to the door. He jabbed the button there which opened it, revealing Jedi Master Kam Solusar standing there, looking annoyed.

Thann bowed towards him. "Master."

"Did your apprentice go somewhere with Ben Skywalker and Noelani Darklighter today?'

Thann frowned, wondering why that would matter to the Master, wondering what sort of mischief his young apprentice had gotten herself into. "Yes…I believe she said something about exploring the Jedi ruins."

"You haven't felt anything off? Or disturbing concerning her?"

Thann shook his head and then closed his eyes, he stretched out with the Force, hunting for Kor through their training bond. He found her, a small, confused and fear-filled awareness in the back of his mind.

His eyes popped open. "She's afraid of something. What's happened?"

"We're not sure, but we think they might have gotten trapped during that earthquake."

Stepping the rest of the way through the door, Thann frowned at the Master. "Then why are we standing here talking? Shouldn't we be trying to rescue them?"

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Next Chapter

Alien Crossfire: Chapter 2

Previous Chapter

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Anakin Solo sat in his cabin staring at nothing. Every light he had was blazing, tossed against the wall of the room were the black pants which are all that remains of the set of Vader armor which he wore for so long. Part of him was glad that he was dressed in the browns and tans of Jedi robes again, while another part of him sorely missed the comforting weight of the armor.

Yet another weight has settled onto him though, a weight that has sunk onto his shoulders, lodging there and refusing to budge.

It was the weight of everything that had happened, the weight of everything that he had done. All the soldiers killed. All the Peace Brigade killed. The destruction of Myrkr. The slaves on the worldship orbiting Myrkr. Even the dead Vong.

Those weights accompanied the one that still clung to his heart over failing Tahiri. Of not being able to rescue her. Of leaving her body behind on Vjun.

The other large ache in his heart was for the Jedi he had killed due to his blind rage and grief. A weight as heavy as his failure to save Tahiri.

Corran.

The grief slammed into him once more. It was a palatable thing, heavy and suffocating. Anakin’s body hitched slightly from the sobs that he was restraining, and he screwed his fist against his eyes tightly, trying to keep from just breaking down into tears.

The door buzzed and Anakin looks at it for a second. A nicety is all that was. He was under no pretenses that he was not a prisoner here, under guard, his door locked from the outside, anyone but him able to come and go as they pleased.

And as far as he was concerned that is how it should be.

The door buzzed a second time, and he realized that whoever wanted to see him was going to stand on protocols. "Come."

The door slid open revealing Luke Skywalker standing there. Anakin could smell the pungent aroma of bacta, and assumed that his uncle had received bacta patches for the wounds he received in the fight they had.

He glanced away from Luke, not wanting to make eye contact, but an odd gurgling noise dragged his attention back to his uncle.

Luke stepped into the room, and the door closed behind him, the silence laid heavy and thick around them. Both of them were suffering from the same thing, the same pain, the same grief and neither was sure how to react to the other.

"I brought someone for you to meet."

Luke sat on the cot next to Anakin, levering his arms slightly to reveal a small infant, a little over six months old, wrapped tightly in a blanket. The only exposed skin was a smooth face, featuring a slightly upturned nose and a small dimple on the chin. Anakin looked down at the tiny being, amazement decorating his face.

"His name is Ben."

Anakin watched his cousin for a few minutes. Finally he leaned back, and focused his attention on Luke.

"What’s going to happen to Nelani?"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You’re not concerned about yourself?"

Anakin shrugged slightly. "I betrayed you and the Jedi. I killed Corran. I gave into my hate and anger. I let my need for revenge override my common sense and what I knew was good and right. I destroyed Mrykr." He looked down, tracing a pattern on the sheet with his finger. "Whatever my fate is, I will accept it. I know I probably deserve worse. But Nelani… Nelani didn’t do any of that. She’s innocent and will make a good Jedi." He did not say "unlike me" even though that was what he was thinking.

Luke stared at him for a moment. "Nelani has been assigned to Master Tionne to finish her training. We need all the Jedi we can get. I would like to think that would include you as well."

"I don’t deserve it."

Luke stood up. "Maybe, maybe not. I’m sure Mara would say I am just being naïve, but I don’t think you’ll fall again. You know what it’s like now. You know how the Dark feels. You know where that line is. Are you going to cross it again?"

Anakin looked up at his uncle, and could feel the tears threatening to fall once more. "I don’t know. I honestly don’t know if I’ll cross it or not. I want to say I’ll never do it again, I want to make that promise, but I honestly don’t know if I would be able to keep it."

Luke nods his head. "I wouldn’t have expected any other answer. Now come on."

He stands up from the bed, walking towards the door.

"Where are we going?"

Luke turns slightly to face him, and lets out a small snort of amusement. "You’ve been locked in this room for nearly a week now. You need to get a bit of exercise or you’ll go soft. And I can’t have my Jedi going soft now can I?"

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but was not surprised when nothing came out. It took a moment for his mind to finish wrapping itself around what his uncle had just said. As comprehension dawned, he dropped back down onto the bed.

"You-you still want me to be a Jedi?"

Luke chuckled slightly. "Like I said, Mara might have called me naïve, but I always believed that everyone deserves a second chance."

Anakin could feel his mouth working again, but did not hear any sound coming out of it. A second chance? A chance to still be a Jedi?

"I don’t deserve it, Uncle Luke. I failed. I promised you that I wouldn’t fall to the Dark Side, but I did."

Luke inhaled deeply and slowly blew it out. "Anakin, you made some mistakes, and did a lot of damage. I’m not saying you didn’t, but now you need to more forward. If you want to consider it atonement for what you’ve done that’s fine, but you’re still my apprentice, and I’m still going to train you to be a Jedi."

Anakin stood and bowed his head quickly. "I understand Uncle Luke."

"Good, now it is time for you to practice."

Luke walked from the room, Anakin close on his heels. Together they got on a turbolift and dropped seven decks. The doors slid open, and side-by-side they walked through the halls until they came to a training room. Anakin paused, recognizing the room number.

"What’s wrong Anakin?"

"When Tahiri told me that she wanted to go on that supply run with me and Corran, I was in this room." He gave his head a quick shake, trying to dispel the memories. "Sorry Uncle Luke."

Then he stepped forward, and the doors slide open and he could hear the distinctive sounds of lightsabers being used in combat.

He felt his pulse quicken, a lightness coming to his step. There was something instinctively drawing to him about the sounds of a lightsaber in motion. The hums and buzzes, the crackle of two blades as they slammed against one another.

Some of his fondest memories had occurred when he had his saber in his hand.

Then his grief sliced through him once more as he remembered that it was some of his darkest nightmares that he had carried out with a saber in his hand.

Shunting those thoughts and memories away he looked at the three people gathered in the room. One was an older woman about his uncle’s age, with long silver hair, pointed ears and mother-of-pearl eyes; the second was a man a few years older than his uncle with short white-blond hair. Kam and Tionne Salusar, the married couple who ran the Jedi Academy most of the time. The third person in the room was the one who had attracted Anakin’s attention. She was around his age, with long black hair, pulled into a tight braid.

Nelani.

The last time he had seen her she had been wearing the thin medical garments used by those being dipped in bacta, today she was dressed in the training outfits she always seemed to prefer. Form-fitting leggings and a halter top.

He whispered her name. "Nelani."

Sighing, he felt some of the weight lift from his shoulders as he watched her slide through various movements as she dueled against Kam. She moved with a dancer’s grace, and attacked with a Noghri’s speed and cunning. He could feel the slight stretching of the burn scar on his face which he now associated with smiling as he watched her.

He has missed her, and was enjoying just being in her presence.

As he watched, she paused in her movements, and glanced his way a smile breaking out on her face as Kam swiped his blade in, and knocked hers out of her hands, sending it flying against the wall.

"Point."

Tionne’s musical laughter rang through the room as Nelani began to blush furiously, rushing over to retriever her saber. "Sorry Master."

Kam shook his head. "You need to focus. When you’re in battle keep your mind on what you are doing. Where you are at. But knowing who entered the room is also a good thing to know."

Anakin glanced at his uncle, noting that his face has fallen once more into the stillness that he had always called his uncle’s "Jedi-face." It was a sure sign that this was some type of test, and Anakin had to wonder who the test was for.

He turned his attention back to Nelani and Kam, and noticed that they were discussing something intently, some of the finer points of lightsaber handling or maintenance as they were each waving their unlit sabers. He tried to keep a smile off his face as he noticed that she kept casting glances towards him. An action that was not lost on the older master.

Finally with his body chuckling with laughter, he dismissed her. She gave a quick bow, and darted to Anakin, throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing it tightly.

He was surprised to find his own arms clinging tightly around her slim waist.

Her voice was warm against his ear. "I’ve missed you Anakin."

She leaned away from him slightly, her smile brightening her eyes. He brushed an errant lock of hair from her face, gently tucking it behind her ear.

"And I, you."

Luke’s gentle cough reminded them that they were not alone, and Nelani skittered back away from him, a blush once more turning her cheeks red, even as Anakin feel the fire on his own cheeks.

Her voice was timid. "Sorry Master."

"Do you feel up to sparring against Anakin?"

Anakin watched as a smile once more brightened her face, and can feel a smile stretching his own once again.

"Oh yes please Master!"

Luke held out something to Anakin. "Take it Anakin."

Anakin looked down at wha twas in Luke’s hand, recognizing the hilt of his lightsaber. Hesitatingly he reached out and grasped his saber for the first time in what has only been a week, but felt like a lifetime.

He walked out into the center of the room, still looking down at his weapon. Reaching it, he ignited it with a snap-hiss, and fell into some of the more simple katas, warming up, loosening his muscles after all the time he had spent locked in his room.

Then Nelani was there before him, her saber ignited, and giving a short bow. Anakin returned it and then hefted his saber into a mid-guard.

Nelani’s blade rose in an opposing guard, and she smiled at him. Her mouth moved as she silently spoke to him. He read her lips. I love you.

He grinned, a lopsided slash of the lips that made him look like his father. He replied in the same way, mouthed words without sound. I know.

---

Next Chapter

Themed Drabbles, set 24

Shuttle

I was four the first time I went into space. Me, my older sister and our parents all climbed aboard a ratty old shuttle, and launched. It was old, and pieces fell away as the ship climbed, but I was too interested in the view to care. My first taste of space; I would have laughed if someone had told me then that I would spend most of my life in space.

At the time, I just thought about how beautiful Corellia looked through that viewport.

Amusing to think I didn't set foot on her again for nearly two decades.

Fighter

My second home was the cockpit of an X-Wing fighter.

After the number of flight hours and missions I had put in, that seat had gotten so worn and comfortable; there wasn't a seat like it in the galaxy.

Sometimes, I still missed my first home, but the friends and family I made, and those people I protected from within it, made my second home worth all the effort.

Biggs would have called me a fool; Luke would have understood my meaning. Me, I just love to sit in this cockpit, smell the leather, and dream my dreams of battle.

Freighter

After my parents were killed, Booster Terrik helped me buy a starship. A ramshackle old freighter that made the Millennium Falcon look like a paradigm of maintenance and upkeep. Of course that was the outside. I'm a Corellian, there's no way a ship of mine wouldn't go fast, and the CEC ships are nothing if not upgradeable. While she never was as fast as the Falcon, she got me where I needed to go, when I needed.

When I joined the Rebellion, I traded her for an X-Wing, and I'll occasionally wonder if she's still out there, flying the spaceways.

Capital Ship

I was never at home on a capital ship the way I was in the cockpit of a snub fighter. If I had to guess, I would say it's because it reminded me too much of my first home. Then there's the fact that you had hundreds or even thousands of people relying on your intelligent decisions to get them all out of a battle alive.

It's better in a snub fighter; there, a bad decision can only kill that person.

It's bad enough ordering a squadron into battle, making a decision that could kill hundreds is so much harder.

Space Station

My first home was the Gus Treta space station in high orbit around Corellia. I grew up there, goofed off with Mirax and Syal. Well, at least until Syal ran away from there when I was 7.

There are times when I miss Gus Treta, but I know I can't go back. Hask made sure of that. It's part of the reason why I still can't stand pirates. I was only 17 when that happened. That was the first of many small steps that led me to here.

The next was Mala, I was 19 when the Empire killed her.

I Want to be Your Knight: Chapter 12

Previous Chapter

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With a quiet finality, the doors slid shut behind the girls. I swallowed hard.

My eyes darted between the two, uncertain which one I wanted to look at first. I was didn't know which of the messes I was going to clean up first. Nor how. I knew which one I wanted to clean up first: Neither. I wanted to go back to the bar and drink myself into a happy state of oblivion. Maybe live there the rest of my life.

How lucky for me that the Force, Kyp and the girls had other plans for me.

Finally, I decided I would deal with Seha first. I glanced towards her, but she refused to meet my gaze. Rather she kept her eyes averted, downcast. She looked so ashamed and demure that I wanted to hug her and beg for her forgiveness.

Before I could react, Jysella poked me hard in the shoulder. I focused on her, and found her steely gaze trying its best to penetrate my skull.

"What the kriff did you do to her, Skywalker?"

I blinked hard a couple of times, and shook my head. "Why is it automatically my fault?"

"Because you're Ben Skywalker. Everything is your fault," she shot back, the sheer venom in her voice surprising me slightly.

"Kriff, Jys! I didn't do anything wrong."

She pointed towards Seha who had moved away from us and was leaning into the corner furthest from us. "Then why was she crying? She wouldn't tell me. I know you were being mean to her, it's what you do. When I left, you two were talking on the couch, when I come back, she was there crying and you were no where to be found. Who else could have done it?"

I fought against my instinctive urge to wince. Jysella had hit the issues right on the head. I had been mean to her, even though I hadn't meant to do so.

Instead I shook my head, and leaned back against the wall. "Even if I had done something, don't you think that's between me and Seha? I don't think you need to stick your nose into it!"

I felt the flickers in the Force, a moment before she threw the punch. I grabbed her fist with the Force, stopping its forward motion, and stared at her. "Do you really want to do that, Jys?"

Her gaze flickered between my eyes and her hand. I saw one of those odd softenings that her face would occasionally do, before her eyes hardened again, and she snarled. "Yes!"

"Fine," I said as I released her hand. "But not here." In a louder voice, I said, "Level 3. Section 2." The turbolift beeped in response, and I felt the slight shudder of acceleration.

Jysella dropped her hand to her side, and stared at me for a moment. I proceeded to ignore her and focused on Seha. "Seha?"

For a split second her eyes flickered up to meet mine before sliding away again. Her voice was quiet, mouse-like. "Y-yes?"

I took the four steps that separated us, and used a finger to lift her chin, until she was looking at me. "I'm sorry I ran away like that. Can we talk about it later?"

My heart broke all over again as a tear slipped down the side of her cheek. "Yes."

I smiled at her, and let go of her chin, ecstatic when she didn't drop it to hide her face again. "Are you going to spar with me and Jys as well?"

She blinked her eyes a few times, and then they flickered over to Jysella. I cast a glance over my shoulder and saw her staring at me. She noticed me looking and in a surprised voice said, "Spar?"

I laughed at her. "Of course, you didn't think I was going to let you beat on me indiscriminately again did you?"

She frowned, "Well... I was kind of hoping..."

I laughed again, and tossed her my best Solo grin. "We'll just save that for special occasions. How's that sound?"

Her face darkened, and I grinned back at her. I knew that I shouldn't tease her like that. That I would probably pay for it later, that she'd do something like place some flitnats in my underwear drawer or some other prank designed to play havoc on my personal equilibrium. Yet I couldn't help it.

The way her lips compressed and her nose would wrinkle up, she was just too cute when she was angry.

The turbolift pinged, and the doors slide open. Jysella spun around and stormed off down the hallway, and I stepped off the lift. With that grin still on my lips, I turned back to Seha, "You coming?"

She blinked in surprise, looked around and then focused on me. "Oh, we've stopped."

I smiled and she stepped off the lift. Side-by-side, we walked down the hallway towards the sparring rooms. When we arrived, we noticed that Jysella coming down from the command center. She gestured towards room 3, and I walked in, Seha and Jys close on my heels.

Hovering around the room were about four dozen floating spheres. Training remotes. I hated those things. Their stingers won't cause you any lasting damage, but they sting like the dickens for hours.

Jys grinned at the two of us. "It's us against one another, against the remotes. First to four points wins. Any questions?"

My gaze flickered between the two of them. "Are we going to use the training armor?"

Jys frowned as she considered my request. Training armor is a lighter form of the vondum crab armor which the Yuuzhan Vong wear. Resistant to lightsaber cuts, it makes training sessions just that much safer. I doubt Jys would go for it. She was probably hoping for a chance to give me a decent sized burn, or maybe even chop off a limb or three.

She looked over at Seha, and then nodded her head. "Yeah, I think that'd probably be best. Since this is the first time we've sparred together after all."

I nodded, as we all walked over to the lockers that ran along one side of the wall. I opened the first one I came to and pulled out the armor. It was a sickly grey color and had a living pulse that I could feel as I touched its interior, yet it was as absent from the Force as everything Yuuzhan Vong was.

I grimaced as I pulled the armor on, and shuddered as it tightened to fit me. One size fits all is how the Vong do things. They think it's easier to have the living creature's muscles expand or contract to fit you than to grow things in multiple sizes. I can see how they would come to that conclusion. It just makes sense from a logistics point of view, but I still hate putting this stuff on.

I snapped the cuirasses into place, and then plucked the helmet off the shelf. It was at this point that I looked towards Seha, and saw her looking with unrestrained horror at the helmet. I sympathized perfectly. I turned to Jysella, and saw her grimacing as she pulled her own helmet down over her head, her hair bunched up in a knot out of the way.

Sucking up my distaste, I did the same. The helmet contracted as it sank home, the face forming itself to mine.

I still despised these things. Suppressing another shudder, I plucked my saber off the shelf and returned to the middle of the room.

Jysella arrived a second after me. Her armor a royal blue color-a shade brighter than what the Senate Guards wore right before the Clone Wars. Seha arrived a few moments later, her armor a brilliant green.

Jysella lit her blade and a shaft of silver energy erupted from her hilt.

I thumbed my own, smiling at its comforting blue glow.

Dual snap-hisses attracted my attention, and I saw Seha standing there holding two sabers. One a brilliant orange, the other a soft yellow.

She seemed to sense my attention, and turned her head to face me. All that was visible behind the mask were the green eyes, her chin and her lips. A smile flickered across her lips for a moment.

Jysella made an infinity symbol in the air with her sword-the sign that the session had begun, and the remotes instantly burst into life. The small puffs which controlled their movement echoed in the training room, creating a distracting background noise.

I snapped my saber to my right hip just in time to deflect a stinger, and then I was rushing forward, my saber coming around to a mid-guard as I attacked Jysella.

---

Next Chapter

Family Found: Chapter 9

Previous Chapter

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"This is boring."

Noelani glanced back at Kor and shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe."

She looked past Noelani, towards where Ben and Poll stood, Poll's handlight shining into yet another room, one that was probably as empty as the rest of them.

Kor turned her light away from the boys, playing it out over the walls again. "We should probably go. There's nothing here – it's all been taken away already."

Noelani nodded her head. "Yeah, but let's see the third level and the catacombs first."

Kor frowned slightly and Noelani noticed that the fur on her snout rippled with her displeasure at the situation. "Yeah. I guess we can do that."

Noelani smiled brightly for her. "Thanks, Kor!"

"You've got it bad don't you?"

Noelani stopped walking and turned to face Kor. "What are you talking about."

Kor's grin grew larger. "Ben. You like him."

"Do not. Now hush." Noelani turned away and started walking faster towards the boys.

Kor laughed and grabbed Noelani's arms, slowing her down slightly. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. You know my feelings about Poll. It's only fair that I know who you like."

Noelani dropped her chin to her chest, watching her feet as they slowly walked down the hallway.

"Guess so," she said. Then her head bounced up and she looked over at Kor. "But I don't know if I like him like that or not. And then there's Chase…"

Kor shrugged her shoulders. "That's okay. I know. And forget Chase, he's somewhere on Coruscant, playing delinquent. Bens' right here."

Then Ben's voice called out from in front of them. "Hey! I found the stairs leading down."

The two girls rushed ahead, just in time to see the light of Poll's lamp fading away down the stair well. They turned the corner and began quickly skipping down the steps. Hurrying to catch up to the two boys.

They arrived at the bottom to find Poll and Ben waiting for them. Poll's light flashing over the various walls of the room they were in. Noelani began walking a circuit of the room, her own light playing out over the walls and the baseboards, searching both visually and in the Force for something interesting.

A small niggle in the back of her mind stopped her, and she let the light flash along a blank wall.

She frowned as she looked at it, glancing to the right and then the left.

Visually there was nothing different about this stretch of wall than all the rest of the walls in the room.

Yet the Force said otherwise.

She reached out and traced her hand along the wall at about shoulder height. Then she stopped and dipped her hand, pushing against the wall.

She frowned as nothing happens. Reaching out with the Force, she grabbed onto that part of the wall and pulled. A small square slid out from the wall and Noelani laughed.

Kor stepped up beside her. "Hey! Did you find something?"

Noelani glanced at her, a smile twisting her lips. "Yes I did. Now to find out what it does."

She grabbed the square, feeling a tingle rush through her body and tried to twist it to the right. When nothing happened she frowned again, looking at it. Shrugging she pushed against it. The square easily slid back into the wall and settled home with a subtle snickt.

Then with a loud groan a section of wall swung inward, revealing another room.

The noise attracted the two boys and they came over as all four teenagers crept into the room.

Weapons, jewelry and holocrons lined the shelves and racks which filled the rooms.

Noelani picked up an amulet and a wave of Force power rushed over her – but the energy felt different, corrupted somehow. She dropped the trinket and took a step backwards her head shaking as she bit at her lower lip.

"You all right, Noelani?" Ben's voice sounded worried.

She quickly nodded her head while still looking at the amulet where it laid on the ground. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just… just a chill."

Turning from the shelves, she looked at the small desk set by the door. She saw a crystal about the size of her hand – it had been polished and cut to have numerous facets. Something about the crystal yanked at the back of her mind. She knew that she had seen something like that before, but she could not quite remember where.

Shrugging her shoulders, she dropped the crystal into a pocket, intent on figuring it out later. She then continued into the room weaving through the shelving until she came to the back end of the room. And let out a scream at what she found.

"Noelani!"

The other three were by her side in a flash, even as she stared in fright at the mummified remains of the massive creature. It towered over them all, its rough, scaly hide coated in a layer of dust. Small glassy eyes stared out from above a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, two of which were long, thick fangs.

"What is it?" Poll asked.

Noelani, still shaken by seeing the creature, hesitantly answered. "It's called a terentatek. They're animals… beasts infused with the Dark Side of the Force."

Ben stepped forward and poked at the creature. "This one is dead though."

She rubbed her arms as she stared at the massive creature – a cold hard knot resting in the pit of her stomach. She stopped rubbing her arms, and looked down at her palms, remembering how the dark energy erupted from them when she had fought the terentatek in the Deep Forest of Kashyyyk.

"'Lani, you all right?"

"Huh?" Startled out of her thoughts and memories, Noelani's head darted up to find Poll staring at her, a confused expression on his face.

"I asked if you're all right. You look like you've seen a ghost."

Noelani looked over his shoulder at the mummified remains of the terentatek. Then she returned her gaze back to Poll. "I feel as if I have."

Poll looked at her for a moment more and then shrugged his shoulders and turned away from her to look through some more of the artifacts that lined the shelves.

She lifted her head again to stare into the glassy eyes of the dead terentatek. Then in a simple, smooth movement, she ignited her saber and sliced at the creature's head, severing it from the body.

She shut down the weapon, staring at the now headless corpse, the splash of blood on the back wall seeming somehow incongruous to the desiccated corpse.

"Why did you do that?"

Noelani turns to see Ben looking at her with an odd expression on his face. She just shakes her head. "I… just because."

Before he could respond, she stepped away from him. Quietly, Noelani slipped through the shelves and walked from the room, taking a deep breath of air. She frowned as she considered that it just smells fresher out here. As if the air was better in some fundamental way when she was away from the terentatek and the weird artifacts in the room.

She heard a noise behind her and turned to see Poll stepping from the room. An odd-shaped amulet hung from the thin chain around his neck.

Noelani frowned at it for a moment. "You sure you want to take that thing?"

Poll grinned at her, a mischievous light in his eyes. "Yeah, I think I do."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Suit yourself."

Then Ben and Kor stepped from the room. Ben glanced back over his shoulder for a moment before turning his blue eyes onto Noelani. "I think Master Tionne and my dad would love that room."

Noelani nodded her head. "Maybe. So what's left? The catacombs?"

Ben grinned happily. "That should be it. And if I remember right, they should be over this way."

He started walking down the hallway, and soon came to a stone arch with steps, hewn from the very bedrock itself, leading into the depths of the planet.

The four stared into the blackness, a cold wave of air struck them and Kor muttered something under her breath.

Noelani found herself frowning again. "What's supposed to be down there?"

Ben replied. "No one really knows what the Jedi used to use it for. It wasn't listed on any of the archives, and none of the holocrons I asked would tell me. In fact most of them didn't even know the place existed."

"Maybe," Poll began with a laugh, "you just weren't advanced enough to find out."

Then Kor spoke up. "Well, if that's the case, then maybe we shouldn't go down there. Ben's ahead of all of us – Jedi wise – and if the holocrons don't think he's advanced enough to know about this place, and then maybe we shouldn't be down there."

Ben shook his head. "No. I think the holocrons just didn't know. The only ones I talked to were the ones created after the Jedi left Ossus. The secret of the catacombs could have been something so simple and mundane that no one ever bothered to actually record it."

Noelani glanced between her friends and then stepped forward. "Well we won't find out by hanging around up here."

With that said, she darted down the steps into the darkness.

She heard the others stomping down the stone steps behind her as she reached the bottom.

Playing her light along the walls, she saw a room carved from the rock walls with two corridors on the far side. A podium was set in the middle of the room. She stepped up to it just as the rest of the group arrived in the room.

The podium was a flat console, its glossy surface marred only by a raised holder for some type of object. She ran her fingers into the holder, feeling the hard angles.

"Ah. I know now," she muttered out loud.

"Know what?" Ben asked from beside her.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the crystal. "What this is for. It's a data matrix. Information is stored in the light trapped within the crystal. I saw one once on Tatooine. It's an old technology and not really used anymore."

She lined the crystal up with the holder, and pushed down. The crystal seated itself with a snap and a bright white light flared around them.

Floating in the air in front of the podium was a being. He wore a blue cloak with a golden metal collar. Grey skin was stretched over a curving skull with wide set eyes and rows of carnivorous teeth.

His voice seemed to come from everywhere. "Greetings, Young Jedi. I am Master Odan-Urr. Welcome to your trails."

Then before any of them could react, an earthquake shook the Jedi Temple. Noelani found herself being knocked off her feet, arms wrapping around her as the stone ceiling began to drop on top of them all.

---

Next Chapter

Alien Crossfire: Chapter 1

What Has Gone Before

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Wedge Antilles stood on the bridge of the Star Destroyer Republic’s Glory. He found that the murmuring voices from the crew pits behind and below him as soothing as the low, almost subsonic thrum from the massive hyperdrive engines. He stared out into the colorful vortex of hyperspace, allowing the rhythms of the ship to soothe his nerves and stomach. Behind him were the tactical planning boards, and his command chair, before him were the crew pits, and the long walkway between them which lead to the front of the bridge, and the massive windows which look out at hyperspace.

Taking solid, measured calm steps Wedge advanced down that walkway. Casting occasional glances down into the crew pits on either side of him; visually checking to ensure that everyone was performing their assigned duties. Finally he arrived at the end, and resumed his sentinel like stance, staring out the forward viewports, calmly watching hyperspace.

To the untrained eye Wedge would appear to be a bastion of calm. Utterly unperturbed by the events of the day, by the loss of Coruscant and the subsequent scattering of the fleets. He stood at ease on the deck, his hands behind him, one grasping the wrist of the other.

But upon closer inspection there were the little tell-tale signs that stated otherwise. Little signs that said that Wedge Antilles was not having a good day. The whiteness in the knuckles, the small crescents where his fingernails were cutting into the flesh of his wrist. The tightening of the jaw, occasionally accompanied by the sound of grinding teeth. All these and more were sure signs that he was not a happy man.

"Sir."

Wedge slowly turned to the young lieutenant that stood at near attention beside him. A datapad clasped in his hand, almost like a protective ward. He grasped for a name, and for the first time in many years his mind failed to provide one. Giving an inner shrug, he replied. "Yes Lieutenant?"

"We’re coming up on Borelias in a few minutes."

Wedge nodded his head once, a small twitch appearing at the corner of his mouth, from the pressure which he was exerting against through his jaws. "Very good Lieutenant. As soon as we revert to real space, I want all starfighters launched, and a sitrep."

"Yes sir!"

The young man spun on his heel and rushed back to his duty station. Wedge watched him in the slight reflection from the forward viewports, wondering how he could be so cheerful, so exuberant for his duty on this day.

Then the swirling vortex of hyperspace fell away revealing the complex navigation hazard that is Borelias and the Pryias System. In the distance he could make out the small blue bauble which is Borelias itself. His eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered the last time he visited this planet. Slightly closer to their position was the giant moon, a huge round ball of black volcanic rock gleaming dully in the star shine.

"Well, hello there. Miss me?"

He grinned slightly and then turned from the viewport and headed aft, towards the lighted board where the lieutenant was standing. He arrived, and glanced down at the dizzying display of lights which indicated all the moving objects in the system.

"What’s the sitrep, Lieutenant?"

"All Forces are accounted for, and our starfighters are leaving the bay and forming up now. We have about three dozen skips lifting from the planet, and a cruiser analog coming at us from the night-side of the planet."

"Have the X-Wings and E-Wings take care of those skips. Send the B-Wings on down to destroy any Vong installations on the surface. Everything else, I want that cruiser destroyed."

The Lieutenant nodded his head, and then began talking into the comlink attached to his ear. Wedge watched the lights and the board, as their forces slowly and surely destroyed the Vong presence in the system.

"Begin landing our troops"

"Yes sir!"

Wedge pressed his own comlink, getting in touch with the man leading the ground forces. "You’re running out there Lando. Make me proud."

Lando’s smooth, cultured voice sounded in his ear. "It’s my pleasure to do so General. Just don’t reactivate my commission. Calrissian out."

Wedge chuckled slightly, glad for the moment of levity to take his mind off the fact that he abandoned Coruscant.

The Coruscant where his family lives.

Where his wife and kids are.

Where he abandoned them.

He clenched his fists, feeling his nails cut into his flesh once again. He used the pain as a focus, an attempt to get his mind off of his wife and his little girls and back to where it belonged.

The deck of the Republic’s Glory shuddered as the plasma from the coral skippers and the cruiser analog reached and slashed through the shields; the force of the impact nearly knocked Wedge’s feet out from beneath him. He growled slightly, and was finally able to yank his thoughts fully off of Iella and the kids and back to the battle at hand. Warning claxons rang throughout the bridge and technicians started yelling damage reports towards Wedge.

Wedge ignored them, and walked towards the helm. "Roll us port. Don’t let that cruiser broadside us on that bow again."

He heard the positive replies from the navigation crew, and shunted them from his mind, already thinking about the damage reports.

-------------------------------------

Lando turned towards the squad which he was in immediate command of. Even though he was in charge of the entire ground operation, he knew that the officers underneath him were more than up to the task of carrying out their respective orders.

He plucked the front his shirt between two fingers and fluttered it, allowing the slight breeze to fan away some of the nervous sweat he had begun to exude. He frowned wondering when that started to happen. There was a time during the Rebellion when such an operation as this would have been something he just did before breakfast.

Now he felt the cold knot of fear and worry sitting in the pit of his stomach.

He looked up into the eyes of his second in command, noting the passiveness which sat easily on the angular face, and gave a winning smile.

"Is something amiss General?"

Lando heard the voice, recognizing it as his own, but also noting the fact that it was deeper and more masculine. Then he grimaced slightly at being called a general again. "Nothing at all 1-AA1. Is everyone ready?"

The large droid nodded its head. "All are reporting green for go General."

"Good, good."

A large explosion rocked the transport, and Lando quickly grabbed one of the loops dangling from the ceiling which kept him on his feet. He grimaced again, wondering just how he managed to let Wedge talk him into doing this.

He quickly glanced around his troops again, seeing the thirty metallic faces, all designed to look similar to a Yuuzhan Vong, stare back at him. He smiled, happy at this particular creation. The YV Hunters were the most advanced combat droid in the galaxy, and here was where they got to prove it. There was just that little part of him that wished he wasn’t with them when they did.

The transport shook slightly, as she broke atmosphere, and Lando could feel himself beginning to actually get excited about seeing the YV Hunters in action. The transport rattled slightly, and Lando could suddenly feel the press of the breaking thrusters as the low growl of the engines shifted suddenly into a high pitched squeal.

With a loud explosion, the ship lurched to the side, and Lando could feel the wind whip through his clothes. Lando glanced back and noticed a large gash in the side of the far wall behind some of the Hunters.

The ringing in his ears slowly faded, and he was left with the roar of the wind. He glanced towards 1-AA1 noticing that the damage to the ship had left the large droid unfazed.

"At least we were in atmosphere."

The droid nodded its head slightly, an acceptance of Lando’s statement.

The breaking thrusters fired again, the roar sounding even louder now that the side of the troop area was exposed to atmosphere. With a jarring thud, the transports stopped moving, and the rear egress hatch began opening.

Lando dropped the loop, and starts waving his hand, pointing down the ramp. "Go! Go! Go!"

He felt a rush of adrenaline as his troops rushed down the ramp, their heavy footfalls thudding loudly against the metal.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the ramp, they begin screaming a message in the Vong’s language. Lando grinned at it, knowing it was just one more tidbit of psychological warfare being used against the Vong.

He mentally translated the message, which he had composed himself. "We are machines, and we are greater than the Yuuzhan Vong."

Lando slowly walked down the ramp, 1-AA1 right there beside him.

He watched as one of the hunters, stopped and turned towards an oncoming Yuuzhan Vong warrior. A dark blur flashed and struck the droid in the chest, but the droid ignored it, just raised an arm and fired a series of high-powered blaster bolts. The bolts stuck the warrior who flew back crashing to the ground, unmoving. The droid turned back and continued on its mission.

"Perimeter secured, General."

"Good. Proceed to phase two. How’re the other teams doing?"

"Team Besh is in position; Team Cresh is facing significant resistance. Team Dorn has began phase two of their operation. Team Esk failed to land on planet. Team Forn is coming up behind us with the engineers."

"Very good. Thank you, 1-AA1. Have Team Besh begin phase two, and send a 1-AA6 and 1-AA7 to assist Team Cresh."

He resumed walking, following the trail of dead Yuuzhan Vong left behind by his Hunters.

He nodded his head to himself. Yes, these Hunters will sell quite nicely.

He ducked to the squeal of incoming artillery, which landed and exploded to the left of him, showering Lando and 1-AA1 with clods of dirt.

--------------------------------

Gavin Darklighter sat in the cockpit of his X-Wing, watching the swirls of hyperspace through the magcon field of the hanger. His mind wandered from the task at hand to his wife and kids, hoping, praying that wherever they were they were safe. He slammed his fist against his leg, knowing that he should have hunted them down on that last shore leave he had. Now he wondered if he’ll ever get the chance to tell them that he does love them. He exhaled sharply, blowing out his frustrations and concerns with a deep breath as the swirls of hyperspace collapsed once more into tiny pinpoints of light.

"Rogue Squadron you are green for launch."

"Copy that Control." He flipped a switch to activate the squadron frequency. "All right Rogues, we are green for go. Let’s vape ourselves some skips."

Six com clicks returned to him, and he lifted his craft up on repulsors, slipping gently out through the magfield and into the expansive darkness of space. As soon as he was free of the deflector shields of the Republic’s Glory, he pushed the throttle down and let out a short yelp of joy as the X-Wing jumped forward accelerating towards the enemy.

He immediately cursed himself and checked to ensure that his mic was off. It would not do for the commander of Rogue Squadron to be letting out com chatter like that. He grinned slightly, remembering all the times when Wedge’s gruff voice would bark back at him to "cut the chatter."

A tootle from his R6 unit took his attention from his memory to the fight which he was about to enter as the first wave of skips was just now entering range of his proton torpedoes. He twisted the X-Wing getting a target lock, and when he heard that solid pitched tone he pushed down on the thumb button launching two of his torpedoes.

He banked and pushed his stick down, dodging away from the balls of molten plasma which flickered past where he had just been.

He gave his monitor a quick glance, noting that his wingman was still tucked in beside him, and that all of the Rogues had made it through this initial salvo.

Then he doesn’t have any more time to think, as he twisted and turned, flipping around and through the Vong formation.

He fell behind a skip, peppering its aft with stutter-shots, watching as the void absorbed them, and as soon as they start getting through, he pumped the full powered shots into the skip, smiling in triumph as it evaporated into a mass of melted rock and frozen ichor.

He came out the far side of the furball, and inverted his X-Wing towards the battle, throttling back to slow his craft. He took a second to watch the dark rocks of the skips and the shining metal of the starfighters as they danced and weaved around each other.

"Gavin."

He flicked a switch. "Go ahead, Wedge."

"I need you to get to Borelias and supply air support for Lando."

"Copy that."

He turned a switch on the comunit. "Rogue Nine."

"Go ahead, Lead."

"I’m going planet-side, you’re in command. Over."

"Copy that Lead."

Grinning once more, Gavin twisted his fighter around, and pushed the throttle back all the way down allowing his fighter to jump forward as he resets his com to receive. A quick glance showed that his wing was still right there, and he nodded his head in acceptance before opening a channel.

"You all right Rogue Two?"

The young girl’s voice that came back still startled him, just from how young and innocent she sounded.

"You got that Lead."

I wonder how long that innocence will last. "Good, we’ve been assigned to provide aerial cover for the boys on the ground. Anything flying around down there, or any rakamats, go ahead and destroy."

He received a click in response, and smiled, happy that she was fitting in so well with the way the squadron did things.

I really got to take the time to learn the names of these new recruits. And to apologize to Jaina for not getting her back sooner. I owe that to her.

A red flicker formed around the shields told him that he had reached the edge of the atmosphere, and he pulled back on the throttle, dropping it into a safer atmospheric speed. He flicked a few screens on his console. Flight Officer Eliza Theatra, Rogue Two. I got that now.

The scanners picked up a couple of skips harrying something on the ground, and he banked that way, coming from above and behind them as they were focused on the New Republic ground troops.

He fired at the lead skip, grinning as it exploded. A glance at the secondary monitor showed that Eliza had taken out hers.

He pulled up from the dive, and leveled out skimming right above the trees, searching for more targets. He glanced behind him and noticed that Eliza was still hanging off his starboard wing, flying less than a meter higher than him.

He grinned slightly, and flashed past the far edge of the engagement zone. He banked the X-Wing back around, scanning for any more air units or large artillery units. He grinned slightly as he spied a rakamat lumbering in the distance heading towards the New Republic ground forces. A flick of a switch turned on the com.

"Two, we’re going for the rakamat. I’ll fire two torps, and send you my telemetry. I want your two to come in on a slightly divergent course. Take .5 off mine."

He got a click in reply, and once more smiled, lifting his craft up on his port s-foils as the targeting reticule fell perfectly around the rakamat, quickly shifting from red to yellow to green.

He pressed down on the thumb trigger, and watched as the two bright flashes shot out from the torpedo launcher. A second later, he saw two more torpedoes flash past his canopy from Eliza’s craft.

His torpedoes detonated early, having detected a void. The wash of explosive power vaporized dozens of the chazrach foot soldiers. Moments later, Eliza’s torpedoes hit, one of them detonated early caught by the dovin basil’s voids, the other slammed into the rakamat’s hind quarters.

Laughing, Gavin twisted his fighter craft, allowing the thruster exhaust to flash over the exposed back of the rakamat. When he reached the center of the beast, he pushed the throttle all the way down, and was pressed back against his seat as the X-wing rocketed upwards.

His com clicked, and Eliza’s innocent voice came over his speakers, chiming with her own laughter. "You got him Lead. The rakamat is dead."

Gavin grinned. "Copy that Two."

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Next Chapter

Alien Crossfire

Alien Crossfire

Sequel to A Life Not his Own.

Dramatis Personae

• Alem’arar – Jedi Knight (female Twi’lek)
  
• Anakin Solo – Jedi Knight (male human)
  
• Czulkang Lah – Former Warmaster (male Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Eliza Theatra – Rogue Two (female human)
  
• Gavin Darklighter – Commander, Rogue Squadron (male human)
  
• Harrar – Priest, Deception Sect (male Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Jaina Solo – Jedi Knight (female human)
  
• Jacen Solo – Jedi Knight (male human)
  
• Jagged Fel – Commander, Empire of the Hand (male human)
  
• Kyp Durron – Jedi Master (male human)
  
• Lu’ath Raptoq – Shamed One (male Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Luke Skywalker – Jedi Master (male human)
  
• Mirax Horn – Captain, Pulsar Skate (female human)
  
• Nelani Dinn – Jedi Trainee (female human)
  
• Nen Yim – Adept Shaper (female Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Nom Anor – Executor (male Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Num’arar – Jedi Knight (female Twi’lek)
  
• Onimi – Shimmra’s familiar (male Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Sannah – Jedi apprentice (female Melodie)
  
• Shawnk'yr'nuroudo – Lieutenant, Empire of the Hand (female Chiss)
  
• Shimmra – Overlord (male Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Ta'a Chume – former Queen Mother (female Hapan)
  
• Tenel Ka – Jedi Knight (female Hapan)
  
• Teneniel Djo – Queen Mother (female Dathomari)
  
• Trisdin Gheer – courtesan (male Hapan)
  
• Tsavong Lah – Warmaster (male Yuuzhan Vong)
  
• Tycho Celchu – Colonel Rogue Squadron, retired (male human)
  
• Valin Horn – Jedi apprentice (male human)
  
• Wedge Antilles – Retired General (male human)

What Has Gone Before

They came from beyond the Outer Rim; piercing the hyperspace bubble which surrounded the galaxy, the barbaric Yuuzhan Vong began their unending march towards Coruscant and the Core. They were armed with surprise, treachery, and an organic technology that proved a match for the New Republic and its allies.

What was more amazing was that the Yuuzhan Vong seemed to be utterly devoid of the Force, which threw the Jedi on the defensive, depriving them of their greatest strength.

From the start of the war, the Jedi, and in particular Jacen, Jaina and Anakin Solo, fought back. Every star and planet which the Yuuzhan Vong capture was torn from the Jedi and the New Republic Defense Fleet, but the invader’s inexorable march forward was not halted and never faltered.

Every defeat, every setback the Vong suffered drove them further forward, and they refused to stop. And with every setback, the New Republic unraveled a little more. Even the Jedi began to splinter, while Luke struggled with the dilemma of the Jedi’s place in the war.

When Jacen cut off the Warmaster’s leg, Tsavong Lah demanded that the New Republic turn over the Jedi in exchange for peace. As the New Republic member worlds began turning on the Jedi, the Yuuzhan Vong made a move against the Jedi Praxeum and invaded Yavin 4.

Anakin Solo, warned by a vision in the Force went to rescue the Jedi potentials, and almost succeeded. Unfortunately Anakin’s best friend, the young orphan girl, Tahiri Veila, was captured and shaped by the Vong.

Ultimately Anakin rescued her, but his happiness was short lived, as on a supply mission with Tahiri and Corran Horn, Anakin and Tahiri were captured by the Peace Brigade, who subsequently killed her to prove a point to Anakin.

The loss of Tahiri drove Anakin Solo to take up the mantle and armor of his grandfather, Darth Vader. Luke then sent the Jedi Knights Jacen Solo and Ganner Rhysode to find him, and bring him back.

Anakin, acting as Vader and with the assistance of his apprentice, Nelani Dinn, quickly began a series of aggressive attacks against Yuuzhan Vong training facilities, attempting to thwart the Vong’s ability to make war against the New Republic. But the Vong developed new weapons, one of which was designed to hunt and destroy the Jedi. The voxyn.

Meanwhile, Jacen and Ganner traveled to Yavin 4 searching for Anakin, and managed to find a group of Yuuzhan Vong hunting for any Jedi that returned to the former training academy. In the ensuing fight, both Jedi were injured, and while Jacen managed to help Ganner escape, he fell unconscious due to his wounds and was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong.

When Anakin tried to free Rodia from the grasp of the Yuuzhan Vong, he and his apprentice were captured and sent to the Baanu Raas, a worldship in orbit around Mrykr. There they were turned loose, and hunted by the voxyn. During one of their engagements with the creatures Nelani was injured, infected with a dangerous retrovirus which was slowly killing her.

Outside the slave quarters, Anakin found a starship and took off, heading towards the one place that he knew where he could find medical help for Nelani and take revenge on those Yuuzhan Vong who had hurt her: Centerpoint Station.

As he fired the weapon, his uncle arrived, and confronted Anakin over his recent actions as Lord Vader. But it was ultimately Nelani, and her acceptance of, and reasoning with, Anakin which made him give up his quest of vengeance.

While this was going on the Yuuzhan Vong made a lightning strike at Coruscant. They used captured freighters filled with slaves as battering rams against the planetary shields. As Coruscant fell, the mysterious Vergere striped Jacen of the Force, leaving everyone to believe him dead.

When the planetary shields finally dropped, the planet was quickly conquered and the New Republic battle fleets retreated away from Coruscant…

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Chapter 1