Sitting in his X-wing's cockpit while hyperspace revolved around him, Kenos Ossinian lifted his helmet's blast shield and wiped the sweat from his eyes. After taking off from the Star Destroyer Crynyd hours earlier, he'd settled into his seat for a nap. A minute ago, his R7 unit Tina had awoken him and told him that the time to revert to realspace was near. The droid beeped melodically, and a holographic timer appeared on his heads-up-display. When it reached zero, the tunnel of hyperspace turned back into pinpoints of starlight.
Ahead of him was the planet Vortex. It had been taken by the Yuuzhan Vong some time ago, but the invaders seemed not to have a purpose for the green world. Only a small flotilla of one frigate analog and two support ships defended the planet. Score another one for Intelligence, Kenos congratulated mentally. For the past two months, the New Republic had been trying to hit the Yuuzhan Vong where they were weakest in order to give new pilots experience without too much danger. With constant fleet movements, however, it was difficult to tell which part of Yuuzhan Vong space was under defended. Now, it seemed that they'd finally found a place that would be easy to hit and run from.
"All wings, report in," said Major Jaina Solo, commander of Twin Suns squadron and the whole operation in the Vortex system.
"Wild Knight Leader, standing by," reported Danni Quee. She was aboard the blastboat that was the ship of Wild Knight Leader Saba Sebatine.
"Sky Dive Leader, standing by." Captain Gorthi Joshek's strong voice sounded loudly over the comm.
"S-foils to attack position," Jaina ordered. Kenos reached up with his right hand and hit the appropriate switch. Almost simultaneously, all thirty-six X-wings in the system spread their wings into their combat profiles. "Okay, Wild Knights," continued Jaina, "you hit the frigate. We'll get the skips. Sky Dive squadron will hit the corvette analogs." Sky Dive, a squadron also from the Crynyd, had just recently been formed from the remains of other squadrons. Waxarn Kel and Alema Rar, fellow Jedi and close friends of Kenos, were flying with them. Though Sky Dive had combat experience Jedi, Jaina gave them the soft corvette analogs; the point of this mission was to season the new pilots, not get them killed.
"Roger, Twin Lead," acknowledged Captain Joshek. He peeled away on a vector for the corvettes.
"Copy, Twin Lead," hissed Saba from her blastboat. The Barabel switched to a squadron-wide frequency. "No trickz thiz time, Knightz," said Saba. "Regular torpedoez on the first volley, shadow bombs on the second. Form up by flights." Twin Suns and the Wild Knights split—the newer group to the incoming fighters, the all Jedi squadron to the frigate.
Kenos took a deep breath to relax his body as he led his flight into position. Reaching out with the Force, he felt his Barabel wingmates close into formation around him without his having to give the order. With the Force giving the squadron only one mind, keeping the formation while evading the frigate's fire was effortless.
Once in range, Kenos brought up his torpedo's targeting system and linked his torpedo launchers. He placed his crosshairs over the bulbous Yuuzhan Vong frigate and waited for a firing solution. When Tina beeped a constant note, signifying a lock, he pulled his trigger and sent two proton torpedoes streaking off on trails of blue flame. All around him, twenty-two other torpedoes sprang to life and zoomed towards the enemy ship.
"Second volley," said Saba. Kenos hit another button to ready one of his shadow bombs. A weapon only used by Jedi, shadow bombs were proton torpedoes without propellant. Instead, they were packed full of even more explosive materials. Compressed air would shoot them from a fighter, but only a telekinetic push with the Force could send them any farther. They didn't glow like normal torpedoes did; in fact, they were almost invisible. Their stealth allowed them to penetrate Yuuzhan Vong defenses more easily than regular proton munitions.
"Fire."
Kenos dropped one of his bombs then pushed it with the Force. Feeling one of his wingmate's strength begin to falter, Kenos sent aid through the Force. After the mental exertion, twelve Shadow bombs lumbered towards the frigate.
The first of the proton torpedoes entered the frigates defensive zone. Miniature black holes appeared along the frigates hull to suck in the blue missiles. Sensing a gravitic anomaly, the torpedoes detonated early, scattering destructive energy everywhere. The voids contained what they could, but collapsed when exhausted. Four late torpedoes breached the frigate's defenses and slammed into the yorik coral hull. The warheads erupted, shooting fluid into space that immediately froze into dark crystals. Chunks of the living ship broke free and floated away, but the vessel was still alive.
The Wild Knights screamed over the top of the frigate's hull, juking to avoid molten plasma fire. One of the pieces of burning rock slammed into Kenos's rear shields, but power rerouted from his laser cannons restored his shields to full strength. A moment later, the ship rocked again as another explosion rang out in space. Furiously checking his damage-control screen, Kenos tried to find what had just hit his fighter.
"It was just the shadow bombz, Nine," said Knight Ten, who had felt Kenos's concern. "Your craft iz fine."
"Oh," said Kenos. Looking behind him, he could see the Vong frigate rolling lifelessly. When it turned all the way around, Kenos got a good look at the gutted hull. Flames covered the exposed decks, waiting for the atmosphere to bleed out totally before dying out. In the Force, Kenos could feel the cold satisfaction of another kill from the Barabels. He knew it wasn't because of any dark side leanings that they felt that way after battle, but he still found it…unsettling sometimes. "Thanks."
Kenos followed Saba as she led the Wild Knights in a loop that would take them to where Twin Suns squadron was battling coralskippers. "Heads-up, Knights, more skips inbound," said Danni. "They're lifting off from Vortex. Let's get them."
"Corvettes neutralized," said Captain Joshek. "Sky Dive will help with the skips." He turned his fighters toward the enemy and accelerated to catch the skips in Vortex's upper atmosphere. The Wild Knights did the same.
Careful, Kenos sent through the Force to Waxarn and Alema. The two Jedi probably didn't receive the exact word, but they could feel Kenos's warning to them. In return Kenos felt Waxarn's cockiness and Alema's appreciation for the concern.
Sky Dive squadron streaked into the Vong formation ahead of the Wild Knights. Laser bolts and plasma blasts crisscrossed through space as the two lines of fighters raced towards each other. In the initial head-to-head pass, Kenos saw a New Republic fighter explode. He winced, but knew that it wasn't either of friends. After passing the skips, Sky Dive squadron broke into shield trios and went hunting for isolated Yuuzhan Vong fighters.
Finally coming in range of a skip, Kenos armed his laser cannons and set them to fire all at once. Knight Eight fired stutter-bolts at the skip while Kenos fired full powered shots. One of his shots pierced the skip's defensive voids and boiled the coral hull. Leaking internal fluids, the Yuuzhan Vong fighter limped out of the fight.
Tina howled and Kenos noticed that his rear shields had taken a large hit. He threw his control stick to the left, snap-rolling onto his port stabilizers, and hauled back. Three trailing skips and all but one of his wingmen followed him. Sensing the danger Kenos had gotten himself into, Knight Seven cut his throttle back. The skip on Kenos's tail sailed passed him, presenting a beautiful shot. There was an explosion behind Kenos, then Tina gave him a message stating that all was clear.
"Thanks, Seven."
"No problem, Nine."
"Let's get back to the fight." Kenos took his flight through the thickest part of the furball, firing as fast as his lasers would allow. After coming out the other side, he was certain that he'd destroyed one and equally certain that his wingmen had gotten two more.
He looped around for another pass, but something in the Force told him to dive. He pushed the stick down and saw a black blur pass barely a meter above his canopy. A second later, three more shadows flew by. "Grutchins!" he alerted his comrades. "Watch yourselves!"
The small creatures zoomed into the dogfight and the communication channels erupted in confused chatter.
"Watch it, Dive Three, watch it! Two above you!"
"One's in my engine! One's in my—"
"Damn, Six is gone."
Despite the crowded radio waves, Kenos could hear a familiar voice announce a problem. "I've got three on me!" grunted Waxarn.
Kenos felt his blood run cold. Short of getting out of the cockpit and picking it off, it was nearly impossible to remove a grutchin from a starfighter hull. Unattended, it would chew through a fighter's hull, split wires, tear off S-foils, or even kill a ship's pilot.
"Electrify your hull," suggested Alema, concern heavy in her voice.
"Can't. One of them ate through my astromech. Can't eject either." He coughed loudly. "Smoke in the cockpit. I have to put her down." His fighter heeled over and began a barely controlled descent to the surface of Vortex.
"Waxarn," said Alema, not caring that she'd said his real name over the com channel. "I'm coming with you."
Kenos felt ice drop into his gut. "Dive Five," he said, addressing Alema, "that's a negative. Don't land. Vortex is occupied; you'll be captured for sure."
There was silence for a moment. "Sorry, Kenos," said Alema, her voice full of regret. "But I won't leave him." Through the Force, Kenos felt a picture enter his mind. It was an image of Numa Rar, Alema's dead sister and Kenos's ex-lover. She'd been killed by voxyn before the strike mission to Myrkyr wiped them out.
She doesn't want that to happen again, thought Kenos. Since Numa's death, Alema had become reserved with her feelings, but Kenos knew her enough to read her well. She doesn't want to let someone down again. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. No words would make Alema turn around, at least none from Kenos. Waxarn's damaged fighter sank below Vortex's atmosphere and disappeared from sight. Alema's followed a moment later.
"Nine, on your six!"
Kenos jerked the stick to his right just in time to avoid a molten ball of plasma. A skip tore through the space he'd just occupied, Knight Eleven hot on its tail. A second later, Eleven shredded the Yuuzhan Vong fighter with a fully powered dual blast.
"Thanks, Eleven."
"Just pay more attention next time, Nine."
"Good advice," Kenos mumbled while he cruised behind a skip of his own. He pulled the trigger and a red blip disappeared from his sensors.
His headphones crackled. "All squadrons, all squadrons, this is Twin Lead. Vong reinforcements are on the way; time to leave."
Kenos keyed his microphone. "But Twin One—"
"I know. We'll discuss it later." She sounded sympathetic.
"But maybe I should go down with them."
Jaina's voice turned harder. "We'll discuss it later, Lieutenant. Prepare your fighter to jump out."
Unhappily, Kenos followed Saba's out-system vector. Jaina was right; if he landed he'd only get captured with Waxarn and Alema. But that didn't mean he wouldn't do anything to save them. As soon as he returned to Mon Calamari, he was going to find a way to get his friends back. Hold on, guys, he thought to his comrades on the Yuuzhan Vong controlled surface. I'll be back for you.
Kenos had his X-wing's cockpit opening before he'd totally placed his fighter on the deck of the Bothan Assault Cruiser Ralroost. He left Tina to the techs and jumped down to the ground. Removing his helmet, he found Saba's blastboat and walked to it. Danni came out of the ship first. She didn't stop him as he made his way up the gangway, but the sympathy she exuded softened the troubled expression on Kenos's face.
Kenos mentally thanked her, appreciative of the concern, then turned his attention to the disembarking Barabel. "Saba, we have to go back."
Saba shook her scaled head. "I would like to Kenoz, but we cannot. We have no orderz to do a rescue mission." Her tail whipped behind her. "You must speak with someone higher up the chain than me. You know that."
Kenos nodded and turned away. "Then that's what I'll do." He marched away, wondering just who to speak with. He made his way to his stateroom, dropped off his helmet, then headed back out before making a decision. Kenos decided that the closest person to him with enough clout to authorize such a mission was the captain of the Ralroost. An old Bothan—like most captains of Bothan Assault Cruisers—Captain Drey'Fel seemed pro-Jedi enough to listen to Kenos.
The captain's secretary almost didn't admit Kenos because he had no appointment. Kenos argued with the man loudly—so loudly, in fact, that the captain called the secretary and told him to let Kenos in just to "shut him up."
Kenos took a moment to calm down before walking to and knocking on the captain's office door. At the captain's beckon, Kenos marched to within three paces of the captain's desk. Once halted, he saluted. Kenos felt someone else in the room but didn't didn't break his bearing to see who it was. "Lieutenant Ossinian reporting, sir."
The captain stood and returned the salute but did not tell Kenos to sit or stand at ease. "Son, what was the point of all that noise outside? What's so important that you had to interrupt one of my meetings?"
Kenos kept his gaze on a spot on the wall above the short captain's head. "Sir, two Jedi were lost on today's mission. Not killed, sir, but shot down. They're still on the planet Vortex. I believe we should send a team to rescue them."
Captain Drey'Fel stared at Kenos for a moment. "Send a team for two Jedi?"
"Yes, sir."
The brown-furred Bothan smoothed the hair on his head. "You'd have people risk their lives for two Jedi?"
"Yes, sir. I would."
Drey'Fel sighed and shook his head. "No, Lieutenant. Pilots are shot down almost every day but we can't send missions to rescue all of them. I know you Jedi can do things that most soldiers can't, but you can't do enough to warrant the deaths of the dozen soldiers it may take to get those captured Jedi back." The captain sat back down and began typing on a datapad. "Besides, we don't even know where they are on Vortex, or even if they've been captured yet." He waved Kenos away. "That'll be all, Lieutenant. Get out of here."
Angry, Kenos performed a left face and marched out of the room. Why had the captain turned down his request? Drey'Fel knew what Jedi were capable of doing. Without them, the Galactic Alliance would have fallen already. How could he throw away the best weapon the Alliance had?
"He turned it down because it's a terrible idea."
Kenos whirled around. Without noticing, he'd walked back into the main corridors of the Ralroost and was standing a few meters in front of Jaina Solo. She had felt his thoughts and was answering his question. "You haven't thought any of this through, Kenos," she continued. "I know it's tough to let friends go, but there's nothing we can do for them right now." Her tone lightened; she commiserated with what Kenos was going through and knew that what he didn't need was someone yelling at him. "We don't even know if they've been captured yet. Maybe after some information we can do something."
He just stared at her for a moment while he mulled that over. Finally, her words made their way through his thick skull. She's right; I haven't thought any of this through. "You're right. We need information before we can do anything." He took a deep breath to calm himself. Impatience was of the dark side, and the sinister side of the Force was something he didn't want to revisit. "We'll just have to wait, I guess."
"Right," said Jaina. She tugged on a sleeve of his flightsuit. "Now, come on. Let's debrief and get some rest. Then I'll buy you lunch."
Kenos nodded and followed his friend.
The next day, Kenos awoke feeling terrible. He didn't understand why—flying missions was tiring, but the Vortex raid had been no more physically taxing than any other. Despite the weakness in his muscles, he forced himself out of bed and onto the floor. He completed his daily set of push-ups, then showered and dressed himself. Before leaving, he noticed a blinking light on his computer terminal. He crossed the room and brought up his mail. Some of the messages were from Jedi friends, but the one that piqued his interest was from the New Republic Army. Kenos brought that one up first.
Lieutenant Ossinian,
I heard about a recent mission flown by your squadron. Some very important intelligence regarding that mission has been brought to my attention. I am requesting that you meet with me at your earliest opportunity for a discussion about working once again with the Army. I'm stationed temporarily on the Ralroost, as I hear you are also.
Sincerely,
Rolag Steevil, Major, NRA
After reading the message, Kenos took a moment to slow down his heart rate. Major Steevil undoubtedly had information about Alema and Waxarn. From his other words it seemed that he was organizing some sort of rescue operation. The weakness Kenos had felt earlier evaporated and in its wake was relief that he'd finally be able to do something about his lost friends. Without checking his other messages—he'd respond to them later—Kenos headed off to find Major Steevil.
It took Kenos almost an hour, and many questions to a very annoyed enlisted soldier, but he found Major Steevil's office. Once there, Major Steevil spoke before Kenos could begin with the reporting procedures. "Sit down, sit down," said the Rodian while he waved Kenos toward a chair on the other side of the Major's dark brown desk. Kenos sat, and then the Major continued. "I know that early yesterday you and the Wild Knights hit a small re-supply station on Vortex. Two pilots were downed and presumably landed on Vortex." Steevil grabbed an open datapad and slid it across his desk. "That is a report from a Vor resistance movement that we're supplying." Kenos picked it up and began looking over the information it contained. "They say they've spotted two Jedi being taken into a damutek on the planet. Its location is on there also." Steevil leaned forward and gazed at Kenos with his compound eyes. "Now, I bet you're wondering why I've given you all this information. I know you tried unsuccessfully to get Captain Drey'Fel to send a mission to Vortex, and I can understand why. That's why I'm going to help you find your Jedi friends."
Kenos frowned. "How, sir? No disrespect, but I don't think you could convince Captain Drey'Fel to send a rescue team."
Steevil nodded. "You're right; I can't." His snout twitched in a Rodian smile. "But as commander of one of this ship's companies of soldiers, I have quite a bit of autonomy." From one of his desk's drawers, he produced another datapad. "A platoon of special operations troops recently got folded into my regular infantry company. If you want me to, I can transfer you from regular infantry to special operations. Then I can give you those men—and a shuttle—for you to use as you see fit."
Kenos kept his frown. "Sir, wouldn't someone in command hear about this? And would these men want to go on this mission?"
Steevil shook his head. "Since their special operations, no one expects me to use them with the regular troops. I can file this mission as 'expeditionary,' and no one would ask me anything." The Major wiped some dust from his uniform. "As for their desire to go on this mission…I'll give them the choice, but I know a lot of them won't refuse it. They've been doing missions like this for most of the war."
Major Steevil leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. "But there is a hitch. You wouldn't get any help from any other branches of the Defense Force. As per Admiral Ackbar's plan, we won't be making any big pushes or hitting the same place twice."
Kenos mulled that over while he looked over the roster Major Steevil had given him. A quick glance over the list told Kenos that the platoon wasn't very big. Twenty-four men to storm a damutek? "Sir," Kenos began, "this is all of them?"
The Major nodded.
Kenos scoffed. "With twenty-four men, I'm supposed to blow through a damutek's entrance and get out again without help?" He shook his head. "There have got to be a hundred warriors in that place; we'd get slashed to pieces." It would be sending all of us to death, he added mentally. It didn't need to be said; Major Steevil already knew it.
The Major sighed and ran a hand over his scaled head, a strangely human gesture for the Rodian. "I know, Lieutenant, that it's not the best sabaac hand ever dealt. However, those are the cards you have." The green-skinned alien held his hands up, palms towards the ceiling. "This is the best I could scrounge together for you. Take it or leave it."
The Jedi's jaw worked as he thought about it. He wanted more than anything to rescue his friends, but how many of the men listed on the datapad would have to die to accomplish that goal? He wasn't entirely convinced that the lives of his friends were worth the cost.
As a Jedi, the answer to the Major's offer was clear. It would be in the best interest of the greater amount of people to not attempt a rescue mission. But as a soldier—and a friend—it wasn't so easy to make the decision.
Frustrated, Kenos sighed. "Thank you, sir, for this opportunity. I'll have an answer for you soon. Will that be all?"
"Yes, Lieutenant, that'll be all."
The Jedi soldier stood, saluted, and began to march from the office. "Lieutenant," called Steevil.
Kenos stopped and turned around. "Sir?"
"I know it's a tough decision, son. I won't think any less of you if you don't want to do it."
Kenos nodded. "Yes, sir." Turning back towards the door, Kenos walked back to his room, the weight of the decision pressing on his mind. Leave his friends to torture and certain death, or possibly lead two dozen men to their deaths? Sighing in frustration, heknew the answer to his question. His friends were gone, and it would be a foolhardy decision to send a party after them. The rescue team would only be killed or captured like his Jedi companions. They're gone, he told himself. There's nothing you can do, not without a company of troops. Angry at his uselessness, he changed his clothes and decided to punish his body in the ship's gym.
Some time later, Kenos exited his shower and dried his body. After changing into his flightsuit, he lay on his bed, deciding to take a short nap before eating. Only half an hour into his nap, his terminal beeped in warning of an incoming message. Rubbing his eyes and cursing technology, Kenos sat up and checked his terminal. What he found was a real-time holo message coming in. He didn't know who it was from—instead of the sender's name there was a line of scrambled code. With a frown, Kenos accepted the message.
"Greetings, Jedi," said the speaker on the other end of the communications unit. A holograph of her face materialized in the air in front of Kenos. She was a beautiful Twi'lek woman with the light blue skin that attracted all sorts of humanoid species. On her face was a slight smile; Kenos could tell by a mere glance that it was practiced heavily and meant to present the speaker as a comforting friend.
Watch out, Kenos, he warned himself. She's trying to sell you something. "Hi," he said tentatively. "How are you?"
The woman's smile broadened. "I'm fine, Jedi. I trust that the same can be said of you?"
Kenos nodded. "Yeah, I suppose." He cleared his throat and frowned. "Who are you?"
The Twi'lek nodded as if she'd been expecting that question. "My name is Ilan Nai'tura, and I have a very enticing proposal for you."
Kenos kept the frown on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't recognize the name. How exactly can you help me?"
"I hear that you've been given a mission." Kenos opened his mouth to ask how she came by that information, but Ilan interrupted him. "Jedi, I have people everywhere," she said sternly. "I know more than you probably do." Her earlier friendly attitude returned. "Now, may I tell you about my proposal?"
Kenos nodded. "Go ahead."
"Thank you. I know that you have given the decision to green-light a rescue mission. It would be a very costly mission, if my numbers are correct. There are one hundred and fifty seven warriors in the damutek that holds your compatriots." She frowned, but the expression did nothing to detract from her beauty. "I don't think you'd be able to take the damutek with only a score of troops," she said with a bit of sympathy in her voice.
Kenos felt his breath hitch. How does she know so much? I should tell someone that there's a spy on the ship. "Yes, you're right," he said. There was no use in trying to hide information that she obviously already knew. "How can you help?"
Ilan looked down for a moment; Kenos guessed she was looking at a datapad off camera. "I can get you and your team a back door to the damutek," she said simply.
"How?" asked Kenos. A moment later, the answer hit him. "You're Peace Brigade, aren't you?"
"Yes," Ilan admitted. "But not exactly by choice. After Coruscant fell, I was take prisoner. I only managed to escape execution by adding my considerable…business associations to the Peace Brigade."
Kenos was puzzled. "If you're Peace Brigade, Mrs. Nai'tura, why do you want to help me?"
Ilan's eyes narrowed. "Because I know who will win this war." She smiled again. "I don't want to be caught with the Yuuzhan Vong when the Alliance smashes them. Business will be much better with the Alliance."
Kenos nodded. "Somehow I didn't think you were doing this out of the goodness of you heart. Now, explain to me how you can help me."
After tapping a few keys, Ilan sent Kenos a map of the damutek and the surrounding area. On the eastern edge of the domed building was one of the main docks Ilan and her Brigader crew used to offload prisoners that they'd captured. Because Yuuzhan Vong hate being anywhere near Brigaders and their technology, the dock is mostly free of warriors. Ilan and her crew could insert Kenos and his men into the damutek, then hold the dock for as long as recovering the prisoners required.
"Wait," Kenos said as he looked over the map of the damutek's inner corridors. "The warrior barracks are really close to the dock. Once shots are fired, what's to stop them from flooding in and slaughtering us?"
"You needn't worry about that. I have obtained a chemical that will close the entrance to the warrior's barracks, effectively locking them inside. It took a much unpleasant negotiation, but we finally got the shaper to develop that for us." By the predatory glint in her eyes, Kenos knew that the negotiations must have been more unpleasant for the shaper than for Ilan. "There will still be guards throughout the damutek, but a substantial amount of the garrison will be locked away."
"What's the price of all this?" Kenos asked. "I don't figure people like you normally work for free."
"Merely that you allow some of my men to rescue one of my own captured operatives," replied Ilan.
Kenos sat back, thinking the plan over. She seems to have thought of everything. "Do I have to respond right now?"
Ilan's lekku swayed as she shook her head. "Not at all, Jedi. You can respond to this frequency. I'll look for a message addressed from Mister…"
"Ossinian," replied Kenos. "Why don't you know that already? You knew I'm a Jedi."
Ilan shrugged. "I only knew you were a Jedi because of the lightsaber."
Turning around, Kenos saw his lightsaber on a table in plain view of his terminal's holocamera. "Oh," he said flatly.
"Good day, Mr. Ossinian," said Ilan. "I'll be awaiting your answer." Her image dissipated from the air and left Kenos alone in his dark room.
After a moment, he headed off to find Major Steevil. He told the Rodian about a possible spy in his midst and of Ilan's plan. The Major set off immediately to ferret out the spy, but left the mission in Kenos's hands. "It's your call," the Major said. It took a few hours of deliberation, but finally came to a conclusion. At his terminal, he composed two messages—one to Major Steevil, and the other to Ilan Nai'tura. He was going to take the risk; he was going to rescue his friends.
Early the next morning, Kenos roused himself from his bunk. A blinking light on his terminal reported a new message. Bringing up his mail system, he found that it wasn't a live feed like the Ilan's previous message. Instead, he found a file that contained a long string of numbers. Coordinates, he thought. She wants to meet me there. After scribbling the numbers onto a piece of flimsy, he made his way to the Ralroost's main hangar.
Passing through the large metal entrance to the hangar, he felt his bones chill. Hangars were known for their low temperatures because the magnetic containment fields that hold in breathable air don't retain heat. With his arms wrapped around himself for warmth, he scanned the area. The air was thick with the sounds of starfighters being repaired, or tugs moving equipment from one place to another. Fifty meters to the right of the entrance, the Jedi spotted a group of soldiers loading an old Imperial landing craft. He assumed they were his troops and walked over to them. As he neared he noticed that some of the face did look familiar. One familiar face, a Givin named Lusak, was the first to spot and salute Kenos.
"Good morning, sir," he said. Upon hearing the salutation, the other soldiers saluted and greeted Kenos.
"Good morning, Lusak," replied the Jedi cheerfully. "Since when are you SO?"
The Givin shrugged. "After you left the Army to become a snubby jock, sir, I thought I'd try something a little more interesting than retreating from the Vong. Special Ops gave me an offer to do just that."
Kenos slapped his shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you're here to have my back." He jerked his head towards the ship. "How long until we're ready to leave?"
"About fifteen minutes, sir," responded a tall Sluisi. "The pilots are already warming her up."
"Good." With a nod, Kenos headed into the ship. He took a seat in one of the acceleration couches and was joined by Lusak. The two spent the next quarter hour recounting their careers since the evacuation of Borleias. When the ship was finally prepared, Kenos supplied the coordinates given by Ilan to the pilots and ordered its liftoff.
Hyperspace, as usual, proved uneventful. To pass the time, Kenos checked and cleaned his weapons and equipment. When the jump was nearing completion, he moved to the ship's cockpit.
The landing craft decanted normally and found itself in an unoccupied area of space. Sensors reported that it was somewhere around Selvaris. "There," said one of the pilots as he pointed to his right. "Another ship."
"Dock with it," Kenos ordered. Making use of the comlink on his right wrist, Kenos addressed his troops. "Everyone up. Squad four, you stay behind. The rest, form around the docking collar and watch out for any surprises by our visitors." After cutting the link, he moved to the docking collar.
Once the docking attachment was secured, the landing crafts inner airlock opened. Kenos walked through it and found himself in front of an averagely tall and attractive Twi'lek. "Mrs. Nai'tura," Kenos greeted.
"Lieutenant Ossinian," she said back after glancing at the rank on the Jedi's shoulder. "So nice to meet you in person. Are your men ready for the transfer?"
Kenos frowned. "Transfer?"
Ilan's expression suggested surprise. "Yes, of course. I mentioned this, didn't I?" She shrugged. "I'm sorry if I didn't. We can't fly you into a Yuuzhan Vong world with a New Republic craft, can we?"
Kenos nodded. "Right." Turning to his troops, he waved his hand forward. "Sit where they want you to. And get squad four up here. Send the pilots back home."
It took a few minutes, but the Alliance troops were placed into seats of the Peace Brigade's old YT-2000 transport. Once aboard, and once the two ships were again separated, the Peace Brigade ship began to move toward Vortex.
Kenos, in a seat somewhere in the ship's main hold, took off his armored helmet and scratched his head. No sense in being uncomfortable until I really have to be. Placing the black headpiece on his lap, he looked up when he felt someone enter. Ilan walked to Kenos and stopped next to his seat. "Lieutenant, may I speak to you in private for a moment?"
With all his troops' eyes on him, Kenos nodded and stood. He followed Ilan towards the rear of the ship, all the while enduring the rude comments about the possible purposes for the privacy that his troops were spouting. Ilan led him to an area near the hatchways to the ship's engines. "What do you need?" Kenos asked.
"I just wanted to go over the insertion with you, Lieutenant." One of her lekku twitched and fell of her shoulder. "I would have spoken about this during our first talk, but I had to cut our connection. Security reasons, you understand."
Kenos snorted. "I understand. It wouldn't do to have one of you Peace Brigade crimelords traced and caught."
Ilan nodded, apparently not noticing—or just plain ignoring—the mild disdain in Kenos's voice. "Exactly. Anyway, we'll land near on the loading dock. One of my men will report to the local intendant on duty, then move off to secure the warrior's barracks. He'll give the chemical a minute to work, then warn you." She held out her hands, palms up. "After that, you are free to rescue your friends." She smiled. "Any questions?"
Kenos shook his head. "Seems straightforward to me."
"Indeed," Ilan agreed with a nod. "Oh, one more thing." A fire began to burn in her eyes, and for a reason he couldn't explain, Kenos felt a little scared. "You'd better not be trying to cross me on this, Jedi. I'm risking much for little gain, so you better come through with your part of the deal." Her words turned icier. "If one New Republic ship shows up in Vortex space, I will let the warriors loose on you. Should you escape that"—she smiled slightly—"I'll hunt you down myself." Her eyebrows lifted. "Comments?"
Kenos stared back into Ilan's smoldering eyes. "Only that you take your own advice, Nai'tura. I've been on the front lines of this war since day one and it hasn't killed me yet, so I think I can survive you. But if you betray me here, you may find your life a lot more difficult." Kenos felt anger creeping into him but he only partially restrained himself. "Yuuzhan Vong warriors fall at my feet; you'll stand no chance. Remember that."
Ilan nodded and her earlier ire seemed to burn away. She extended a hand. "It seems we have an agreement, then, Lieutenant." Her voice seemed different, as if she respected Kenos a little more because of his tirade. "Am I right?"
Kenos shook her hand. "Damn right."
Back at his seat, Kenos whispered to Lusak the details of his conversation. Whispering into the microphone on his wrist, Kenos used his platoon's private comlink frequency to dispel all rumors as to the cause of his private talk with Ilan. He told all his men to use special care; it was obvious that they were now dealing with two enemies.
Reversion to realspace brought Kenos out of the light nap he'd been taking. Shaking the sleep from his body, he unbuckled his restraints and headed to the cockpit. As he entered, he was greeted by Ilan. "Hello there," she said cheerfully. "Have a nice nap?"
"Yes, thank you," responded Kenos, a little surprised by her change of attitude. He thrust his chin towards the planet Vortex. "How long until we get to the damutek?"
The pilot in the left seat spoke, addressing Kenos. "About thirty minutes."
Kenos nodded. There was one empty seat left in the cockpit, so Kenos took it. He adjusted his armor to make sitting more comfortable. "I expected it to be longer."
Ilan answered. "The Yuuzhan Vong don't bother with checking us. We're pretty much allowed to do what we want."
Kenos arched a brow. "They trust you that much?"
Ilan chuckled and shook her head; her lekku swept across her face as she did so. "By no means do they trust us. They just hate our technology so much that they'd rather stay away than risk being tainted."
Kenos nodded and peered out the forward viewports as the ship neared Vortex. Entering the atmosphere, Kenos didn't see any changes to the landscape of the planet. Usually, the Yuuzhan Vong reformed planets they were going to use as growing fields for their coralskippers or other weapons. Kenos guessed from the lack of change that the Yuuzhan Vong didn't have any such uses in mind for Vortex.
The pilots smoothly brought the freighter to the southern-facing side of the damutek. Kenos stood and headed back to his troops. He found them passing out headsets for comlinks. Kenos took one for himself and placed it on his head, then his helmet over that. "Everyone ready?" he asked through the comm, thankful that he didn't have to use his wrist. His four squad leaders replied in the affirmative so Kenos turned to find Ilan. She was giving last minute advice to one of her men—doubtless the man who would have to seal the warrior's barracks. When the man turned to do his duties, Kenos mentally wished him luck then turned to Lusak and began discussing the mission. "When that guy comes back," Kenos said, "we're moving in."
"Lieutenant," one of his soldiers near the back of the platoon called. "Who are they?" The trooper gestured to a group of eight sentients Kenos hadn't seen on the trip. Must have been in private rooms the whole time, he thought.
Before Kenos could respond, Ilan stepped forward. "Remember, I'm trying to rescue one of my people, too. Those are my people who will hold the dock for you."
The soldiers began murmuring to themselves, and Kenos understood why. We have to trust Peace Brigade to hold the dock open for us? It smacked of treachery, but Kenos couldn't do much about it. Still, he had an idea of how to neutralize the necessity of Peace Brigade troops.
After a few more minutes of patient waiting, the Brigader who had left earlier returned. "The dock has only five guards," he reported to Kenos. "And there are more throughout the damutek, but the barracks are locked tight."
Kenos nodded then waved his troops forward. The platoon marched through the freighter and down the ramp. As soon as one of the soldiers spotted a guard, red blaster bolts flew through the air. After four seconds, all five guards were down. Kenos held his hand up and the platoon halted. The Jedi took a moment to look around the dark dock.
The dock was large, easily as spacious as a hangar on a new Mediator-class Mon Calamari Cruiser. Spaced unevenly on the other side of the dock were five large holes. Kenos knew from studying maps that each was a tunnel that led deeper into the damutek. Two of Ilan's men, who had followed the Alliance troops of the freighter, scurried down the right-most tunnel to rescue their comrade.
Scattered around the deck were crates left from earlier supply runs. One stack in particular would give any troops stationed in the dock excellent cover. "Squad four," Kenos said into his microphone and pointed to the stack of cargo containers. "Set up there. You're holding the dock for us."
As the six man squad hustled off to do as ordered, one of the Peace Brigade soldiers left to guard the dock gestured at Kenos. "What are you doing? We're holding the dock."
Kenos nodded and raised the visor on his helmet. "That's right, you are. But, you'll do it with the assistance of my troops." Kenos hefted his matte black T-40 blaster rifle. "Got that?"
The Brigader, smart enough to know when to back down, nodded and returned to his men.
Kenos motioned to the platoon. "Let's go," he said and led his men across the dock and through the tunnel and a brisk pace.
Kenos kept his senses alert as he walked through the sinuous tunnels. Though he couldn't feel the Yuuzhan Vong through the Force, with extended senses he might be able to hear a warrior before seeing him. Behind him, a machine beeped. One of his men had a hand-held unit that picked up the thermal signatures of any Yuuzhan Vong. In the early days of the war, individual thermal signatures were masked by the heat given off by living damuteks; however, after having gained experience with raiding living structures, the New Republic learned to adapt their technology.
The soldier reported a heat signature around a bend ahead of Kenos. Rounding the corner, he found himself three meters from a surprised Yuuzhan Vong warrior. "Infidels!" the warrior screamed in his native language. Kenos put a blaster bolt through the warrior's face and kept marching.
At the junction of two tunnels, he stopped his men. The main tunnel continued in a more or less straight path, but the smaller one to the platoon's left traveled only a few meters before curving sharply to the left. Kenos could feel the puzzlement of his men, but something else in the Force was bothering him. Through his enhanced hearing, he could feel a faint rumbling but didn't know from which tunnel it was coming. He concentrated harder; utilizing the Force to sense which direction the vibrating air molecules were traveling.
A second before the hoard of warriors turned the corner, Kenos began firing down the tunnel to his left. A moment later the eighteen other men of his platoon followed suit. Over a score of Yuuzhan Vong warriors flooded the tunnel barely wide enough to fit three of them abreast. Screaming a war cry and spinning their amphistaffs, the warriors dashed into a wall of laser energy. Many screamed as searing hot bolts slammed into crab armor or unguarded flesh. The cloying smell of burned ozone and charred flesh instantly engulfed the tunnel.
Surprised by the appearance of so many enemy warriors, one of the Alliance troops pulled a grenade from his belt. Kenos, through the corner of his eye, saw the man hurl it at the rapidly approaching warriors. The detonator hit a warrior in the forehead but did not explode. Instead, it fell to the deck and bounced toward the platoon. Firing his rifle with only one hand, Kenos flicked his left hand toward the explosive. It flew down the winding tunnel a safe distance before exploding.
A second later, the warrior's sprint to the Alliance troops was over. Now within striking range, the remaining eight warriors tore through the platoon, swinging their weapons wildly. Kenos tracked a warrior and snapped off a shot at his head. Through sheer luck, the warrior managed to intercept the bolt with the head of his amphistaff. The blade sagged, dead. Both Kenos and the warrior were stunned into paralysis for a brief moment. Making the most of the advantage, an Alliance trooper shot the warrior.
Looking around, Kenos spotted a warrior charging at him. The Jedi brought his rifle around, intending to shoot the rapidly nearing enemy. With a quick strike, the Yuuzhan Vong lopped off half of Kenos's rifle and skinned his right index finger.
Dumping his rifle, Kenos back flipped and pulled out his lightsaber. The light from his blade cast a terrible glare on his helmet's visor; with a quick motion he lifted the visor and solved the problem.
The warrior in front of him, obviously excited to have a duel with a Jedi, stepped back and smiled. Screaming something in his native language, he stepped forward. He very powerfully struck twice at Kenos. The Jedi, expecting slow but mighty blows, easily parried. Lowering his guard, Kenos goaded the warrior in. The warrior zealously moved in for the kill and swung his amphistaff horizontally at the Jedi's neck. Kenos ducked and the blade passed over his head with two centimeters clearance. Thrown off balance by the clean miss, the warrior stumbled to his left. With a swipe of his legs, Kenos brought the warrior onto his knees. Quickly, he shut down his blade and took his pistol from his thigh holster. He wrapped his left arm around his scarred enemy's neck and squeezed. The choking warrior clawed and scratched at Kenos but couldn't stop the Jedi from putting the pistol to his temple and pulling the trigger.
Stepping back, Kenos let the lifeless body fall to the ground. A glance around showed him that the battle was almost over. Looking to the floor, he spotted a rifle that looked to be in better condition than his. He called it to his hand and used it to help clean up the remaining warriors. Once all the Yuuzhan Vong were down, Kenos gathered his men. He counted seven dead of his own, and one seriously wounded. "Okay, Tilmek," he said, addressing a young soldier. "Take O'Heth back to the fourth squad. Stay there until we come back."
Kenos didn't have to tell his soldiers to leave the dead or to take what ammo they could from the bodies. His men were experienced soldiers; they were already doing so. After they were done, Kenos looked around at the nine soldiers still with him. "Everyone ready?"
"Yes, sir," came the chorused response.
"Good." Kenos lowered his visor again and turned to face down the main tunnel. "Let's move."
Deeper in the damutek, Kenos glanced at the holomap hovering above his left wrist. He quickly gathered his bearings and took a secondary tunnel that led to the chamber that Ilan reported was holding his companions. Stretching out with his feelings, he could feel his friends. Thankfully, they were alive—in pain, but alive. Relieved that the whole mission hadn't been negated, Kenos moved to the chamber's door.
The mass of flesh sealing the cell's entrance looked more like a scab than an entry to a room, but hewasn't phased. He reached right for what Intelligence told him was the opening mechanism and slapped it. Nothing happened. Frowning, he hit the spot of softer tissue again, this time harder, but still the portal didn't open. "Locked," he mumbled. "Fine. Be that way." He opened a channel to his men. "Cutters up."
Two of his men slung their rifles and moved up next to him. From their belts they removed objects similar to blaster pistols but with much shorter barrels and a thicker grip. The troops pointed the business end of the tool to the portal and depressed the trigger. A constant stream of laser energy leapt from the cutter to the door and dug furrows into the skin of the Yuuzhan Vong door. By reflex, the living doorway curled away from the scorching flow of light.
With the help of Kenos and his lightsaber, it only took his troops a few moments to cut a whole that would allow the men to enter the holding cell. Kenos pushed lightly on the loose piece of skin. The flesh tipped over but stopped when it hit something—something that snarled and cursed in Yuuzhan Vong. Eyes widened with surprise, Kenos filled his hand with his pistol. After six shots through the cut piece of entryway, it fell the rest of the way to the floor. A puddle of dark Yuuzhan Vong blood flowed out from under it. Because of the ground's uneven floor, the blood flowed to a centralized location where a bio-engineered Yuuzhan Vong creature greedily sucked it up.
Kenos took a step into the dark chamber. He could feel—but not see—his friends slumped to the ground about fifteen meters into the dark. Opening his mouth, he began to call to them. Before the words could leave his mouth, something slammed into the left breast plate. Spinning, he saw the man to his left take a thud bug to the helemt before he fell. Kenos heard yelled orders and blaster fire, saw red reflections of laser bolts on the walls and roof, then felt his chest.
A young Duro soldier grabbed Kenos's hand before he could feel anything. "Don't touch it, sir," the trooper said. "It's trying to dig into your armor." With expert grace, the soldier used his laser cutter to kill the bug. Before the super-heated bug could melt the Jedi's weakened plasteel armor, the soldier leaned Kenos onto his side and began unlatching his chest plate. "Let's get this off, Lieutenant."
The Duro removed both pieces of chest armor and helped Kenos stand. "Thanks." With a nod, the young soldier moved off to carry out other duties.
"Clear!" Lusak shouted.
On the datapad on his wrist that controlled his armor functions, Kenos brought up his visor's light-amplification system. As the dark chamber turned bright as day, Kenos looked around for Lusak. "Injuries?" the Jedi yelled back.
"Not on our side," replied Lusak, who was walking to Kenos. "We're all accounted for, plus two."
Stretching out with his feelings, Kenos located his friends. One of the Alliance troops was helping Waxarn walk. Alema had a few cuts and bruises, but was otherwise fine. Kenos was surprised that they were such relatively good condition; most prisoners of war didn't look half as good as they did, even after one day. Well, this isn't their first experience with Yuuzhan Vong captivity and they do have the Force. "Good morning," he greeted his friends with a smile. "Ready to get out of here?"
Waxarn smirked. "You know it. I'd like a ticket for the first transport to Mon Calamari."
Alema grinned and hugged Kenos. "I totally agree," she said after kissing his cheek. "Let's get out of here."
Ilan, sitting patiently in the cockpit of her freighter, leaned back in her chair and was admiring her manicured nails when her personal comlink chirped. "You've succeeded?" she asked into it, assuming it was her team.
"Yes, ma'am," answered her team's leader. "We have our operative and we're on our way back."
"Good work," she said and signed off. Turning to her right, she gestured to one of her aides. "Unlock the warrior's barracks. Captain?" She faced the ship's pilot. "Warm the ship up; as soon as our people are back, we're leaving." With a smug smile, she reclined in her padded acceleration couch. Let's see if you can survive this, Jedi.
Though mission completion was close at hand, Kenos kept his vigilance. In the past, the Yuuzhan Vong had shown a facility for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
"Lieutenant Ossinian!"
Kenos stopped the platoon when he heard his name being yelled over his headset. The Jedi could hear blaster fire and other screamed orders in the background.
"Huffel?" Kenos asked. "What's going on?"
"Warriors," came the garbled reply. "…Tons of them. To the left, Shreebat!" Blaster fire made the lieutenant's earpiece squeal. "Too many, sir, we can't…" Whatever Huffel said after that was drowned out by screams, blaster whines, and explosions.
Kenos stretched out with his feelings and felt, in increasing horror, the death of each man in his fourth squad. His blood boiled in rage and betrayal. Ilan! Behind him, he felt Alema's and Raynar's lamentations; they'd felt the slaughter too. Raynar limped to Kenos and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Lieutenant," called Lusak. "Shouldn't we be moving?"
"Right," Kenos said, shaking his head to clear it. Looking around, Kenos saw the smaller tunnel the Vong guards had used to ambush him earlier. The dead bodies were still littered the ground. "We're going that way," he told the platoon and pointed to the secondary tunnel. "The dock's been taken and the ship's gone."
"Sir?" said one of the younger men. "What about fourth squad?"
Kenos closed his eyes. Private line, he thought. The rest of them didn't hear anything. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to deliver the bad news.
Lusak beat him to it. "They're gone," the Givin said, reading the expression on the faces of the Jedi. "Just like we'll be if we don't start to move."
The rest of the troops looked shocked and watched Kenos for confirmation. With a nod, Kenos took his gaze from the saddened soldiers and began to walk through the secondary tunnel. He knew there was another loading dock on the northern facing side of the damutek and intended on escaping through it. Then…we hope we find a ride off-planet somehow. Deciding to find a way over that particular bridge when he got to it, Kenos kept up his careful march.
Commander Stastong Ask pulled his amphistaff from the soft belly of an infidel soldier. With a mental command, the weapon went limp and became a whip. Ask snapped his wrist, spraying blood and gore onto the loading dock's coral floor. Now clean, the weapon curled around his muscular right bicep.
His subaltern moved to stand next to him. "Commander," said the subaltern as he snapped his fists to opposite shoulders in salute. "We count eight dead infidels." The warrior frowned slightly. "However, they are not Peace Brigade traitors as we suspected. They are Galactic Alliance troops."
Ask glanced down at the dead body near him and nodded. "Yes. Where are the rest of them?"
"Some of them must have escaped on a freighter that left some minutes ago, Fearsome One. We have sent scouts throughout the damutek to find any stragglers."
Private Task Kortasha, a young Devaronian grenadier six men behind the Jedi Lieutenant, tried to keep his rifle from shaking too much. Though he would never admit it, he had never been so scared in his life. As a small Yuuzhan Vong bug crawled over his boot, he had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming. The six-legged insect, perhaps realizing that the near-by beings were not friendly, tried to scamper away. Embarrassed that something so small had alarmed him, Kortasha fired at the bug. The rest of the platoon froze and began panning weapons in every direction, searching for warriors. Kortasha sheepishly reported a false alarm, and after the Lieutenant took a moment to strip Kortasha down verbally, the platoon was moving again.
"Contact!" reported a warrior sitting in front of a mobile villip choir.
Commander Ask moved to stand behind the warrior. "How many are left?"
The warrior placed a hand to the villip in his right ear and manipulated controls on the choir in front of him. "I'm receiving conflicting reports, Fearsome One. One probe saw six, while another saw ten. The two captured Jeedai are with them." He paused for a moment then shook his head. "Another probe reports ten, Fearsome One."
The Commander nodded. "Where are they headed?"
"They are in the warriors training hall. They seem to be headed to the other loading dock, Fearsome One."
Ask let out a deep breath as he thought. "Send a company to the dock. Drive the infidels into one of the instructional rooms. Once the enemy is contained, our warriors will wait until my order to charge is given." The instructional classrooms were small quarters with one exit meant to train specialized groups of warriors. Ask wanted to corner the group of infidels before exterminating them—he'd seen too many crafty infidels escape through nearly impossible means. All of these intruders will die, he vowed to himself. And we will take back our Jeedai to sacrifice to the gods.
"Githin!" Kenos screamed to the injured soldier from the cover provided by a Yuuzhan Vong instructional room's doorway. "Let's move!"
This was the third raid Vong soldiers had made on the weary group of soldiers. They'd made it through the first two with nothing more than cuts and bruises, but Kenos knew the luck wouldn't hold. When more Yuuzhan Vong soldiers began charging from both ends of the tunnel, the Jedi decided to pull his men into one of the rooms that lined the tunnel. Everyone had made it in quickly except the wounded Githin.
Now, with blaster bolts burning past him, Githin was limping backwards while trying to keep Yuuzhan Vong warriors back with bursts of automatic fire. Ten meters from the doorway, the young Shistavanen's power pack went dry. The wolfman pulled out his pistol and resumed fire, burning down any warriors that made it through the cover fire of his comrades.
Once only five meters away from the doorway, Githin turned to sprint to safety. He'd barely begun moving when a limp amphistaff wrapped itself around his leg. The Shistavanen hit the deck hard and lost his grip on his pistol. The weapon rolled across the coral ground and clattered to a stop four meters away.
With his razor-shape teeth exposed, Githin rolled onto his back and leapt at the nearest warrior. He sank his fangs into the warrior's tough flesh and mauled his enemy savagely with his claws. Another warrior opened his bandolier of thud bugs and hurled one at the Shistaven. Githin roared as pain erupted in his back and caused him to crash to the ground.
Kenos saw the man fall back to the ground and knew he was lost. Four warriors crowded the Shistaven, preparing their blades for the final strike. Another dozen were sprinting to the open classroom doorway that housed the other soldiers. Using the Force to pull two soldiers away from the dilating opening, Kenos hit the door's closing switch. The scabrous portal sealed itself with a sickening wet thud.
Knowing the Yuuzhan Vong would open the door again at any second, Kenos kept his rifle trained on the entrance as he backpedaled. "Reload if you need to," he told his men. "They'll be coming." Clicks and clacks rang through the classroom as the men slapped new power packs into their rifles. Waxarn grabbed a pistol from a soldier near him and readied it; Alema took the lightsaber from Kenos's belt but left it unlit by her side.
The platoon backed up until they were at the far wall of the room. Though the men were only ten meters from the room's entrance, the Yuuzhan Vong would have to wade through rows of desks in order to come within striking range. A few men began stacking those desks to act as a bug shield. Kenos nodded. This should be enough to handle the dozen or so outside, he thought. Then we can get out of this dead-end room.
Utilizing the datapad on his wrist, Kenos desperately scrambled to map out his platoon's escape.
"Report," ordered Commander Ask.
The warrior subaltern bowed and saluted. "Fearsome One, we have the Jeedai contained. Our warriors stand ready to charge and slaughter."
"How many warriors?"
"Fifty, Fearsome One. As per your orders."
Ask nodded. "Good." He looked around at the mass of troops around the classroom's door. "Save the Jeedai," he reminded the subaltern. "Kill the rest. You may charge."
Two thumps on the wall was all the warning the Alliance troops had before it exploded inward, then the room became filled with Yuuzhan Vong warriors and flying thud bugs. Blaster bolts tried to thin the Yuuzhan Vong numbers, but the pitifully few Galactic Alliance troops could only do so much against the oncoming horde. Grenades blew holes in the warrior formation, but still more squeezed through the bottleneck doorway.
When a sea of blue-skinned warriors burst through the portal, Kenos knew instantly that the platoon's position was untenable. Frantically, he skewered his mind for an escape route. When he could, he stole glances at the holomap still hovering above his left wrist, but no method of fleeing presented itself. Resigning himself to a final blaze of glory, Kenos reloaded his depleted rifle and kept firing.
Just when the feeling of inevitable death began to press on him, something whizzed past his head. By reflex he jerked backwards and briefly saw a razor bug fly through the damutek's wall behind him. Kenos squinted as light from the Vortex system's star stabbed his eyes. His visor darkened and erased the glare, but Kenos suddenly felt hopeful. Light! A way out!
Kenos resumed his firing but spoke into his microphone. "Cutters," he yelled. "Hack us a way out of here. Quick!"
The two cutters slung their rifles and brought out their cutting torches. As quickly as possible, they began to cut a break in the damutek's wall. Alema, who had been using Kenos's lightsaber to knock down thud and razor bugs, joined them.
After a burst of fire, his rifle stopped firing. He foundg no more power packs on his belt, so he swore and tossed the useless weapon to the ground. Pulling out his pistol, he added the loud pang of his slugthrower to the chaos of the battle around him.
"Lieutenant," came a voice over the Jedi's helmet speakers. "Hole made, sir. Let's get out of here."
Good idea. Kenos opened a channel to everyone in the platoon. "Fall back! Everyone through the hole."
Still firing, he moved toward the gap in the damutek wall. Three of his men and Alema were on either side of the hole, covering the retreating troops. As he passed through the exit, Kenos grabbed Alema and threw her over his shoulder. "Seal it," he commanded the troops still firing through the hole.
Two of them were grenadiers, and in almost perfect synchronization they pulled thermal detonators from their belts and tossed them inside the damutek. The men flattened their backs against the outer edge of the damutek as the explosives flash-boiled Yuuzhan Vong warriors inside. Next to one of men, the demolitions man placed a Nergon-14 charge on the edge of the hole. He turned on the power of the explosive's transceiver and slapped the shoulder of the man next to him. Their work done, the three men sprinted after their companions. Twenty meters away from the damutek, the demolitions expert tapped a button on his wrist. The Nergon charge detonated loudly; chunks of living rubble fell to the ground, crushing warriors and blocking the exit.
After fifty meters of all-out sprinting, Kenos stopped his men and took a look around. Without really noticing, he'd led his platoon near a field of grass taller than him. Well, it's better cover than nothing. Carefully, he stepped into the grass and walked a few dozen meters. He stopped and told his men to tend to any injuries while he planned out their next move. Kenos had just begun to head to Lusak to discuss the situation when Waxarn stopped him.
"Kenos," he said. He was staring into the golden grass as if someone were lurking there. "You feel that?"
Kenos looked to Alema and saw that she was glancing around nervously. Whatever was out there was disturbing her. Opening himself to the Force, Kenos prepared himself for an unpleasant. Fortunately for him, he was disappointed. Instead of receiving a feeling of impending danger as he'd been expecting, he could actually feel beings slowly approaching from all sides. They were a bit distorted in the Force, but not in the same way Yuuzhan Vong slaves were. Peace Brigade must be using underground Vortex shelters. He reloaded his pistol and hand-signaled his men to readiness. That's okay; we can handle them anyway.
Kenos trained his pistol on the closest subterranean presence but didn't fire. Even after he felt the presence strengthen, he held his fire. Don't want to let them know we've spotted them. Kenos felt the person crawl forward until it was within four meters of the platoon. Then, surprising everyone in the platoon, the man spoke. "Galactic," the voice whispered harshly.
Kenos blinked at the use of the New Republic Army's identification word. "Spin," he said, his heavy surprise evident in his voice.
The man sighed and stood up. Kenos felt the others do the same. "Thank the Force," said the same voice. "We thought you were another Peace Brigade patrol." The man broke through the tall grass and was revealed to be a Bith. He offered Kenos a hand and helped the Jedi stand. Around the platoon, more soldiers broke through the grass and helped the other soldiers.
After glancing at the rank insignia on Kenos's shoulders, the Bith straightened and saluted. "I'm Sergeant Mo'lik, sir." He dropped his salute and gestured toward his people. "We're what's left of the 1066th Expeditionary." In the distance, the sounds of approaching coralskippers drifted to the soldiers. "And it's time to go," said Sergeant Mo'lik. His men began hurrying through the grass to whatever trap door they'd used to get above ground. "Come on, Lieutenant."
The Sergeant led Kenos and his men to a sandy colored door that blended in with the grass around them. Three meters down was a small room. After helping Waxarn and Alema down, Kenos took a look around. The architecture didn't seem familiar to him, but one of his troops knew what the structure was. "This is a weather shelter, right?" the young man asked. "For those Vortex storms?"
Sergeant Mo'lik, walking towards a comm unit implanted on the wall, turned and nodded. "That's right. We've been here for about a week now." He shrugged and adjusted his armor. "This place is getting a little crowded." One of his soldiers handed him a comlink, but he didn't use it immediately. Instead, he turned to Kenos. "If you don't mind my asking, sir, what are you doing here? We weren't told we'd be getting any help building this resistance."
Kenos shook his head. "Sorry, Sergeant, we're not your help." He gestured toward his fellow Jedi. "We're here for them." With a sigh of relief, he took off his helmet and ran a hand through his brown hair. Mo'lik began speaking into his comlink, so Kenos held his question until the Bith was finished. "What are you doing here, Sergeant?" Kenos asked.
Mo'lik handed the comlink back to one of his soldiers. "We're here to set up Vor resistance cells."
Kenos felt a spark of hope grow inside him. "You have a way off world, then?" His breath hitched as he waited for the answer.
Mo'lik looked at Kenos as if he'd suddenly sprouted a Devaronian's horns. "Of course, sir."
Kenos glanced over his shoulder to look at his men and his fellow Jedi. Relief was on all their faces. "Mind if we catch a ride back to the Fleet with you guys?"
Mo'lik smiled. "That won't be a problem, sir."
The next day, Kenos, the remaining men of his platoon, his Jedi friends, and the 1066th were loaded into a battered Corellian Action freighter. As it lifted off Vortex, Kenos caught a glimpse of the damutek that was the grave of sixteen good soldiers. But it didn't have to be that way. Angrily, Kenos thought of the treacherous Ilan Nai'tura and the deaths she'd caused. With a scowl on his face, he mentally cursed the woman and vowed to enact justice for his slain men. You'll pay for this, Ilan, he vowed. If I have to, I'll travel across the whole galaxy to make sure of it.
Leaning on a rail overlooking what most sailors and soldiers referred to as the Yard, Kenos sipped on a mug of caf and watched the planet Mon Calamari spin lazily below the Ralroost. He wore no uniform and had no datapad; he intended to keep work as far away as possible since this was the first time he'd been out of his quarters in three days. Since his return from Vortex, he'd been swamped with after action reports, letters to the loved ones of dead soldiers, and explanations to angry superior officers. Rumor had it that an investigation into his rescue mission was underway. Hewasn't worried; officers can't be made to reveal operational plans during wartime and all the men who went on the mission were given the opportunity to decline the expedition. If the rumor were true at all, the investigation commission would soon be disbanded.
Still, Major Steevil wanted him to keep a low profile for the time being, and he understood totally. After finishing the paper work required by the higher-ups, Kenos took a hiatus from the administrative duties that permeated his flight schedule.
His first stop after being temporarily relieved of his obligations was the Yard, a mostly transparisteel deck designed to give crewmen aboard the Ralroost a place to gather and relax. The air was always slightly smoky and filled with a light buzz of conversation and bad music, but he found spending time there therapeutic. After almost every combat mission—especially when there were losses involved—he wandered into the Yard, ordered a drink, and sat alone with his thoughts.
Usually, he reflected on the recent mission, but that day he found his mind drifting. He didn't want to think of military matters anymore, not while on his vacation. Instead, he thought of the only other time during the war that hadn't surrounded him with martial matters: his time with Numa on New Plympto. As usual, a pang of hurt battered his heart, but he weathered it. In the past few weeks, he'd learned to stop avoiding thinking of her at all. He now realized that remembering their happy moments together brought more pleasure than dwelling on her death could destroy.
With the fall of his mental block, the memories of Numa poured through him. A smile crept to his face as he recounted all the instances Numa would sneak away from mundane resistance meetings to be with him. He blushed just remembering the compliments she'd given him. Light laughter escaped him when he recalled the exasperated expressions on Alema's face each time he and Numa kissed in front of her. It felt good to escape the cold duracrete and steel of the Ralroost to reminisce about the fixation Numa had on his hair. "Remember, I don't have any of this," she'd once told him as she playfully tugged on his hair. "That's why I always play with yours."
"Hey," someone called
Wrenched out of his daydreams, Kenos looked to who had spoken to him. It was Alema, clad in a pilot's jumpsuit. She had her arms wrapped around herself to protect her from the Bothan temperature preference. "Hey," he said cheerfully. "They let you out of debriefing and medical already?"
Alema nodded and stood next to him, and he slid his mug of caf over to her. "Thanks. Yeah, they let me out a few hours ago. I just woke up and thought I could find you here."
He frowned. "Where's Wax?"
She swallowed a mouthful of caf before answering. "The doctors confined him to his room for the next few days. He has some sort of infection in his leg that they don't want to inflame." She looked over at him. "He sends you his thanks for the rescue." She put her hand over his. "And I do, too."
He waved the thanks away. "Thank what's left of the 1534th Special Operations Company. They did all the work."
"I've already sent thanks to Sergeant Lusak," she said. "I just wanted to thank you personally. Wax will want to, also. He might ask Master Skywalker to promote you if the New Republic won't."
"Me? A Jedi Master? I just became a Knight."
She squinted at him. "'Just?' Borleias happened months ago. Where have you been?"
With a frown, he tried to remember just how long ago the defense of Borleias had happened. Has it really been that long since Sullust? With a start, he realized that it had been a few months since he and a merchant named Clea Kendel escaped from Peace Brigade captivity on Sullust.
He also realized that it had been a long time since he'd last spoken with Clea. The last communication he had with her—one dated many weeks ago—told him that she'd taken a job shipping military supplies somewhere far from the front lines. He'd been happy to hear that—his list of friends was too short already; he wanted to keep as many of them safe as possible. And maybe I should make contact with her again.
"Sorry," he told Alema as he returned to the conversation. "I guess I've had a lot of other things on my mind."
"Like saving me," she said, grinning.
He shrugged. "Well, that was no big deal. I'm always bailing you out of trouble, anyway. I figure it's my official job by now."
Smiling, she slapped his arm. "Shut up. You know, Jaina's very mad at you."
He nodded. "I know. She came to my room and told me that my mission was reckless, stupid, irresponsible, and extremely dangerous. Then she yelled at me for not asking her to come with me."
"She told me that she'll never forgive you."
He snorted in derision. "That's what she said when I spilled wine on her new pants when she turned sixteen. She'll get over it."
Alema chuckled, and then silence reigned a few seconds. She fidgeted for a moment, then spoke. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have landed with Waxarn. What I did was dumb."
Kenos agreed, but knew that saying so was very unnecessary. Besides, he'd almost done the same thing himself. "It's all right," he told his friend.
Tears began leaking from her eyes and strolled down her blue face. "No, it's not! People died to rescue me when I should never have been captured."
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close. "Listen. We would have gone in to rescue Waxarn anyway. Good people died unnecessary, but that is not your fault. Those deaths are on Ilan's hands." He pursed his lips grimly. "And she'll pay."
With a shaky sigh, she nodded and calmed herself. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Still," she turned away from Kenos and swiped a hand over her moist cheeks. "What would Numa think?"
"Numa would never think less of you for wanting to save a friend."
Alema nodded, but he knew she wasn't convinced. She leaned her head onto his chest and sniffed. "I miss her," she choked.
He took a moment to fight down a lump in his throat. "Yeah," he said when he felt he could do it without a tremor in his voice. "I miss her, too."
Alema started crying; Kenos had to fight to keep from doing the same. Through the Force, he tried to console her with happy memories of her sister. Alema, feeling his attempt to comfort her, smiled slightly and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and regained control of her emotions before speaking again. "Numa was head over heels in love with you, Kenos," she told her friend with a stronger voice. "And it's easy to see why." After taking one last sip of caf, she put the mug on the counter in front of them. Strongly, she wrapped her arms around Kenos and hugged him. "I have to go," she said as she broke away. "Unlike you, I'm not on vacation. See you around."
Kenos said his goodbye and turned back to Mon Calamari. Deciding to stay a little longer, he grabbed a chair, ordered another caf, and sat. Sipping on his drink, he pushed all military matters from his head once more and went back to thinking of Numa. For the next week or so, the war was over for him. A nice "vacation" indeed.
THE END