Chapter Two
"Lady Billaba, our men and women are being swatted out like flies! It's not going to be much longer before we'll have to retreat to the cruiser," exclaimed the leader of the Ember of Vahla. Damn, have the Yuuzhan Vong already grazed through so many of our soldiers like nothing? she thought. "Very well, pull everyone out and back to the cruisers: I'll have my Mistress cover our escape with the Sorcerers of Tund," she replied aloud.
Piloting was not her specialty and she realized that apparently, it wasn't the specialty of the Vahla either. However, they had given the Yuuzhan Vong a hell of a fight in the starfighters and now that the Killiks were here, they didn't have to worry about the more massive cruisers from the Main Fleet. The southwestern fleet that had caught them off guard earlier had been wiped out as a result though some of the Vahla fighters were caught in the crossfire due to poor strategic positioning earlier. "Attention all starfighters still flying, this is Arden Lyn contacting you to order you to return to the ship if you aren't already doing so," said her Mistress' voice on the comm channel.
"Mistress, this is Depa, I presume you have a plan for confronting the Yuuzhan Vong forces?" Depa asked immediately. "Affirmative and the Sorcerers are going to play a big part in the fruition of these plans. Speak no more until you're in the safety of the ship and move it: I hate delays," Arden said. "Copy that Mistress, all Vahla fighters, report back to the cruiser immediately and make sure not to get shot down while you do it!" Depa said into the comm channel.
It took at least an hour for all of the ships that survived the collision with the Yuuzhan Vong to arrive but when they did, Arden was to the point on their briefing. "Each transport will require twenty-four starfighters as escort and contains two-hundred of the Sorcerers. You will be escorting three such transports to each of these highlighted Yuuzhan Vong ships with the intent to destroy them. After that, if you survive, return here for the next escort duty but remember that it will likely be a one-way trip for all the transports you escort," she explained.
She intends to sacrifice the power of the Sorcerers to destroy the Main Fleet and has calculated how many would be needed for each. I didn't anticipate such cunning on my Mistress' part but then, I never really have managed to anticipate much from her Depa thought silently. "Apprentice, I will need you here in case the Yuuzhan Vong manage to breach the cruiser and pursue its destruction. Your powers will be better used in combination to mine for the defense of this place," Arden said.
Depa didn't want to argue about that nor did she think that it was even worth arguing considering the relief she felt at not having to fly again. However, she sensed something wrong and had the feeling that she would probably see almost none of these people again. Not that she cared for them much but she did have to wonder if it was really necessary for them to have stumbled into this deathtrap. Would they get out alive and if so, would they be rescued by Thrawn and his soldiers or would they be betrayed and left to die by him?
Unfortunately, the thought apparently prompted Thrawn's hologram to appear in their communications array and deliver news from his front. "The Chiss Ascendancy has robbed me of half my resources and has ordered me to deliver terms of a truce with the Yuuzhan Vong. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't the half that was quintessential to defeating them and rescuing you two if need be," the Chiss Officer immediately said. "So you are going to just simply leave us to die!?" Depa exclaimed.
"I have no choice, I tried to persuade them to give me the resources back so that I could rescue you two and give you a proper start to the rescue of Vergere. However, they were stubborn and demanded that I fulfill their terms before I can get them back and by then, it'd be too late," he admitted. "You betrayer and break of promises!" Depa shouted, grabbing him in a Force Choke in anger. "There was nothing I could do, I had no choice but I will avenge you, I assure you," Thrawn replied in gasps.
"Let him go apprentice, there is nothing more that can be done and killing him won't make a difference. Not now, anyways," Arden ordered. She wanted to get back at him for this as well but she knew better than to do it when she was under attack from another enemy. "Defend the ship at all costs and if necessary, we'll make an escape that we can use to attempt returning to Thrawn," she added.
"You're on your own as far as an escape goes anyway. I can't even help you escape with what I have but I can warn you both now of impending danger: the Ascendancy will be coming in my place. They'll annihilate everything that stands on the firing end of their cannons whether it's you or the Yuuzhan Vong. I suggest that you escape as soon as you can but stall the Yuuzhan Vong at least until they're close," Thrawn said.
This Ascendancy that he answers to intends to wipe out everything here in the fringes of the Void for victory over the Yuuzhan Vong. Typical strategy that General Grievous used when he was faced with defeat on a front he couldn't afford to lose Depa thought. She began to regret having Force-Choked the Admiral but she couldn't help but snap in the face of his helplessness. "We'll do what we can and we may yet still see about bringing back your Jedi Vergere when we've escaped," Depa heard her Mistress say to Thrawn.
"I don't see how you could manage a rescue after barely escaping with your own lives but if that is your wish, I will not stop you. However, I suggest that you move quickly about it: the more time you waste, the more the Ascendancy has to arrive and blast you to hell," Thrawn warned them. Arden nodded and said that she and her apprentice would do just that before cutting transmission with him. Depa decided it was best not to ask her Mistress how she intended to rescue the lost Jedi Vergere when they could barely rescue themselves from this mess.
But once again, she reminded herself not to question Arden's abilities as a leader for she saw ahead and kept calm whenever Depa couldn't do either. "Livy, have the Ember of Vahla that remain done as I instructed them to do?" Arden asked. "Yes ma'am, they flew off with the transports without you even waiting to give them a signal," the leader of the Vahla answered. "Good, they wasted no time waiting on me like I feared they would; now we just wait for any remaining Yuuzhan Vong to come," she said.
As soon as Czulkang saw the beginnings of the resurgence in the near-defeated starfighters and the transports they accompanied, his first thoughts weren't on destroying them. Rather, his first thoughts were actually on getting his son to safety since the Main Fleet would like be destroyed at this point. "Captain, arrange for a transport to go back to the City and make sure that the pilot understands that he is not to return until at least this has ended! Tsavong, get your ass to that transport and stay put in the city until I order otherwise for you," he said aloud, bursting the orders almost non-intelligibly.
Luckily for Czulkang, Tsavong knew better than to waste a single moment in questioning his father's orders and a pilot was quickly arranged. "Ready all cannons and torpedoes, I want those transports and those starfighters gunned down the moment you can get a good shot," he added. The men aboard his ship were also quick to obey that order and relay it to others without questioning him. What are the allies of the Chiss Ascendancy up to and why have they forced this sudden fear upon my mind? Czulkang asked himself.
Was this their intent: to instill fear into his mind and persuade him to make mistakes that he normally wouldn't make? Or was it his gut instinct telling him that the Ascendancy was merely using this to prepare for something much worse than he was seeing? It would be an excellent explanation of his fears as well as an example of the cunning of the Chiss enemy that he faced before him. After all, they had wisely used their Killik allies as shields as well as some other allies for distracting him.
"Fortify defenses and be prepared for anything that they throw. If the transports break into the ships, have the soldiers do what they can to kill the passengers before they can do anything. Aside from that, just keep a vigilant lookout for anything with the stamp of the Ascendancy on it," he added. I have the feeling that they'll have a part to play in the final outcome before this is over he thought.
Onimi found himself fascinated by the sudden turn of events that were playing before the recorder that he and Shimrra used to view the battle. Czulkang suddenly desired his son to leave the area and had barked orders almost one right after the other like a common dog. Never have I seen him this weak before but then maybe it isn't weakness so much as some sort of insight he thought. Being a Warmaster came with certain abilities such as a strange, sudden insight into the future of virtually any battle against virtually any enemy which made battles between each other very difficult to finish.
But this was an enemy who didn't have that advantageous insight yet had somehow been able to calculate many of Czulkang's movements without much effort. He wondered if the Force helped any of these officers or if it was just sheer cunning in the case of many of the officers opposing Czulkang Lah. Maybe it was just blind luck or the "will of the Force" as their Jedi Knights called it whenever something like this happened.
"Why does Czulkang suddenly shout out these orders to his troopers when he has not done this before?" Shimrra asked suddenly. Sometimes, the Supreme Overlord had a tendency to surprise Onimi with the things that he would come out and ask but this was far from the worst of such things. However, he did wish that Shimrra at least got his complete and utter attention before he made such comments. "Milord, I would have no way of knowing for I am no Warmaster but I would assume that Czulkang's natural insight tells him of something brewing where we cannot see it," Onimi answered.
"What does that secret power of yours tell you about whatever this something might be?" Shimrra inquired. "That it is very dangerous and may be capable of destroying enough of the Main Fleet to force us into a truce for our own survival if not complete defeat on our part," Onimi answered calmly. Indeed, this was what he had seen in a vision granted him by the Force not too long before this battle began but he couldn't quite put a finger on what might be the source of it all. Shimrra nodded and continued to view the screen that displayed before him and his Court Jester with content of that.
Onimi's prophecies never failed to come true but he was internally afraid that if this one did, it would mean shaming the Yuuzhan Vong. Worse, the people who did not participate in this war would have further reasons to lose respect and loyalty to Shimrra the Supreme Overlord. For how would they be able to forget that he was the one forced into a defeat that shattered his own idea of conquest? How would they be able to forget that by failing here, he would have insulted the greatest of all their deities?
The religious fanatics would use this as a protest against the rule of Shimrra and a need for someone like Shimrra's enemy Quoreal to take his place. Granted, Quoreal's conservative nature had cost him his throne and his life but there were those who still loved him for what he had done in his time. Adhering to tradition was never one of the specialties of Shimrra but he tried it whenever it suited his goals of complete domination over the entirety of the universe. However, the totality of adherence displayed by Quoreal was definitely not to be pursued due to the dangers Shimrra himself brought up.
Still, such was his gullibility as a result of finding the balance that someone like Onimi could very easily ensnare him with promises of grandeur. It was when Onimi had once again fallen victim to the distractions that came with the thought of having so successfully controlled Shimrra that the worst came. "What in the name of all the sacred gods is happening before my eyes?" Shimrra demanded immediately. Onimi was initially taken aback himself but then he saw that the ships comprising the Main Fleet were being destroyed from the inside, excluding Czulkang's personal cruiser.
So that's what these allies were up to and that's why Czulkang wanted to get his son to safety. The enemy is destroying the ships and weakening the Main Fleet as much as possible before the arrival of their Chiss friends Onimi thought but didn't say. "Quite a formidable counterattack on the part of our enemies if you ask me, milord," he said aloud and calmly too. This was indeed an interesting twist in the story of the War in The Void but this didn't conclude it, not yet.
Arden was pleased to see that thirteen of the twenty-four enemy ships had already been destroyed under her plan with at least another seven on the way. Now, she saw the beginnings of a retaliation from the Yuuzhan Vong starfighters forming not too far away from her ship. The fighters landed in the hangar bay whenever they could and poured in squadron upon squadron of soldiers. "Depa, to the hangar bay: we have enemies to deal with now," Arden ordered to her apprentice.
The younger woman was quick to follow under the heels of her Mistress, who prepared for the upcoming fight by unsheathing her sword and then duplicating it with the scabbard. This way, she had two blades with which to fight the enemy and none of the handicaps of holding on to the scabbard. Depa ignited her own lightsaber as well, the orange blade hissing to life and surprising some of the nearby Yuuzhan Vong for most had probably never seen a lightsaber before. It was this sort of curious surprise that Arden was counting on to stall them until she had a plan of attack ready for them to bear.
Luckily, she was light on her feet physically and mentally, making it not too long before she began using energy-based attacks against her enemy. These includes crescent blades of energy cast from her swords which sliced the soldiers with almost the same effect as a lightsaber would have. The only difference was that it didn't come with the cauterization feature and thus, blood spilled everywhere. Depa was not too far behind, shooting spurts of fire from one hand and deflecting laserfire with her lightsaber in the other one.
Her skills in Vaapad caught the closest ones completely off guard and her use of pyrokinesis as well as Force lightning dealt with the rest of those in her path. Arden also used Force Powers unrelated to her blade such as Force Destruction and even Kinetite, sending waves of death almost everywhere. Depa tested Force Repulse and was surprised to see that it worked only for throwing Yuuzhan Vong away from her but not kill them in the process which cast Force Push aside for future use. Luckily for her, Arden encouraged this sort of planning since they had little knowledge of what killed their enemies.
"Mistress, Battle Meld!" Depa shouted. Arden nodded, figuring that perhaps now, it might be best to give it a shot and see if it stemmed the tide at all. It was worth a shot despite what they already knew about telepathy and telekinesis failing against the Yuuzhan Vong's immunity. Unfortunately, the effects of the Battle Meld were slight if present and the tide was soon turning more to defeat than not.
"Miladies, escape pods are available if you wish to take them out of this cruiser. Scanners indicate that Chiss Ascendancy-model scout fighters have just come out of hyperspace. It won't be long now before the rest of the fleet shows up and blasts everything to hell," Livy said, fighting with them. "Reserve it for us by any means necessary, we're getting out of here whether or not we have to slaughter a thousand of these scum in the process," Arden replied, nodding just before saying so.
"Mistress, perhaps a little something to throw them off may help us on our way out?" Depa suggested. Arden nodded and immediately positioned herself beside her apprentice for one massive wave of Kinetite energy that sent many Yuuzhan Vong flying and killed those caught in the center of it. "Good thinking, my apprentice and now for our escape off this ship and hopefully back to Admiral Thrawn," Arden said.
Smiling, Depa was pleased to see that her idea had made her Mistress proud for those few moments of pride truly motivated her more than anything since their time together began. Using her skills with a lightsaber, Depa made sure that no laser from the enemy harmed her or her Mistress. This helped them reach the escape pods without much hindrance but it was here where Livy froze in thought. "What is it, my friend?" Arden asked.
"I've got an idea for how I can help in this war beyond your escape but I don't think you'll like it," he answered. When Arden asked him to explain, he did by saying that he would take his cruiser and its remaining crew and pilot it right into the mothership on the Main Fleet. "Or at least one of the big ones closest to it... it's a suicidal run but an effective one, usually," he added calmly. Skywalker did a similar thing on Ryloth once although he managed to escape before the cruiser exploded Depa thought.
"If you feel that is what's best for saving us and honoring your people's memory, you may go ahead and do so. I truly did wish to take you to where your homeworld was but it looks as though I will have to hand that knowledge over to the bounty hunting members of your people," Arden stated sadly. "Even they are far more honorable than most in that profession and deserve the knowledge just as much as we do. Do not fear for me or those who accompany me, we know the risks and we know them well; we always did from the moment you recruited us," Livy replied.
"Wield my husband's hammer and wield it well, my friend. He would be pleased to know that it is in the hands of someone capable," Arden said after a pause for silence. Livy nodded, smiling and thanking her for allowing him to do this in her name as well as Xendor's name and honor. "Time to abandon ship, my apprentice," Arden said.
Depa nodded, slipping into the escape pod after deflecting one last green bolt of the enemy fire, her Mistress following suit. The hatch shut closed until it was airtight and Livy, the last real leader of the Ember of Vahla, turned to face his enemy and begin his mission. Waiting until he heard the launching of the pod that carried his Mistresses to safety, wherever that may be, he held prepared for the final fight. After the rest of the survivors amongst his people joined him on the bridge, he made the final push to the controls and the start of his suicidal plan to help destroy the enemy forevermore.
Admiral Thrawn couldn't believe the incompetence of the Council that led the Chiss Ascendancy. First, they banished him to Irkalla for his willingness to violate the code if that was what it took to obtain victory. Then they take half of the resources he made for himself and employed it into their service for complete and total annihilation of whatever remained in the Void. Finally, they vowed to include even their own ships and the remainder of the Killiks in the process of their extermination there.
That, in itself, was a violation worse than anything he had done to warrant his own exile at their hands. But to ask the Admiral to represent them in making a truce with a high-ranking official of the Yuuzhan Vong afterwards made this treason absolutely unforgivable. His greatest hope now was that Arden and Depa could forgive him for having to abandon them despite his promise not to do that. After all, Depa's Force Choke could've killed him had Arden not spoken up, making him grateful to be alive.
He owed her a debt now that she had saved him from the wrath of her apprentice, a wrath he had once felt during the Outbound Flight Expedition at the hands of Jorus C'baoth. Now, as he helplessly watched the Armada assemble outside the Void, his fingers remained crossed for them. Those two were my greatest triumphs out here in this desolate place, more than the Talisman would be he told himself with a mixture of sadness and happiness. It was a mixture that would linger...