Second Chance
Chapter Three: Escape from Yuuzhan'Tar, Part 1
Yuuzhan'Tar, outside of Shimmra's Palace, Half a standard hour ago
Yuuzhan'Tar was shaking.
Muted rumblings could be heard in any part of the planet as turbolasers collided with the planet's surface. The fresh biological constructs of the Yuuzhan Vong came crumbling down like trees in a hurricane as the armies of defenders and invaders alike waded through the landscape. It was the very picture of war.
To the Yuuzhan Vong, the battle was amazing and exhilarating. To Ganner Rhysode, it was just disgusting.
Ganner slashed at an oncoming Vong with his lightsaber, transforming the attacker's battle cry into a scream of pain. He did not have time to savor the victory though as a telltale whistle reached his ears. Ganner threw himself to his left, and immediately the spot where he had been standing exploded in a cloud of dust. The jedi threw a look over his shoulder.
"Someone take out the kriffin' artillery!" He ordered.
Only the cry of "Yes, sir!" told him that his troops had received the command. Ganner's eyes had already turned towards his next target.
Ahead of him, a squad of Yuuzhan Vong warriors were charging at his position with their amphistaffs unfurled. They roared at him in challenge.
Ganner smirked. "Who am I to disappoint?"
Refusing to waste any more time, Ganner dashed forward. He weaved in between the launched thudbugs and the scattered explosions, moving so fast he might as well have been a blur. Once the Vong squad was close enough, Ganner pushed off into the air.
Using gravity to his advantage, he came down in the middle of the group swinging. At least two warriors went down immediately, before he landed in a crouch. The other warriors took an extra second to sort out the confusion of having their enemy in their midst.
That second would cost them dearly.
Ganner launched himself back up, driving a powerful shoulder into the nearest warrior and sending him flying into his compatriots. The jedi then spun around to block an amphistaff with his lightsaber.
"You will die, jeedai." The warrior growled.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, scar-face." Ganner replied flippantly.
Angry at the retort, the alien pushed harder on his end of their locked blades. Ganner couldn't help but feel smug as the warrior played directly into his hands. Ganner pushed back a little, but just when the warrior returned with more force, Ganner ducked.
Without the other blade to block him and slow his momentum, the warrior was off-balance. Quickly, Ganner grabbed his opponent on the shoulder portion of his armor and heaved in the same direction. The Yuuzhan Vong was thrown to the side, meeting an unfortunate end with the swinging amphistaff of his recovered comrades trying to sneak up on their jedi foe. Ganner then attacked them again, this time making sure they would not get up again.
Watching as his last opponent fell, Ganner opened his mouth to say something.
"Die, infidel!"
Pain blossomed out from his shoulder as the amphistaff cut into the back of his armor. Had he been wearing his traditional robes instead of standard armor, it probably would have cut right through and delivered the living weapons' poison directly into him. While the armored mesh that made up his uniform saved him from the most dangerous part of the cut, it did not protect him that much. His fingers went slack and his deactivated lightsaber fell to the ground with a thud. With a gasp, Ganner fell forward, barely twisting around to see his attacker.
The Yuuzhan Vong sneered down at him. "So the mighty Jeedai general isn't as great as he thinks he is."
Ganner winced in pain. "You know me?" He baited, hoping for more time. If he could just get his lightsaber…
His only answer was a throaty laugh followed by a mocking tone. "Yesss, I know who you are, Jeedai. The mighty Ganner, killer of thousands, falls at the hands of a single soldier because he wasn't paying attention." He laughed again.
Ganner reached out with the force, searching, and felt a surge of relief. There was his lightsaber. Pulling, he called it to his outstretched hand-
Only for his attacker to step on it midway.
"This has all been very amusing, but I can't waste any more time on you. Now die!" The amphistaff swung down.
BZZT!
Ganner watched as a blaster bolt collided with the warrior and he cried out in pain. He then pulled his now free lightsaber to him, activated it, and thrust forward. Moments later, the Yuuzhan Vong fell to the floor, dead. Ganner stayed on the ground to collect his breath.
"Master!"
Ganner looked up to see a young human dressed in a mixture of jedi robes with standard infantry armor dashing towards him with a smoking sidearm. His lips curved into a smile.
"Nice save there, Jorsc. Good thing you were watching my back."
Jorsc Bemad, Ganner's padawan learner, shook his head roughly which sent his unkempt pale blonde hair flying everywhere. "Just a lucky shot, master. I'm sure you would have thought of something."
In the past, Ganner would have let such praise come in heaps, thinking he deserved it all. All these long years of war had taught him some humility though.
"No, I wasn't watching my back. He got enough of a drop on me that he would have taken me out." The general admitted.
His padawan smirked, and his eyes twinkled. "Kinda ruins the whole fun when they sneak up behind you, eh?"
Ganner nodded. "Yes, sometimes I wish they'd just all come at me from one direction. I could probably take down hundreds of them."
Again, some humility.
Ganner decided that enough time had been wasted, "Have they taken out the artillery?"
Before the recruit could answer, a resounding boom hit their ears and the two turned around to look. The towers that the Vong's artillery had been stationed in tumbled down to the ground. Jorsc whistled appreciatively.
The path to Shimmra's palace was now wide open. It was time to act.
Ganner fished out a comm. unit from his armor and brought it up to his face. "This is General Rhysode. The way is clear, repeat, the way is clear. Make a way inside."
"Yes, sir." A garbled voice answered.
Ganner picked himself up, flinching slightly with the pain in his shoulder. He turned to his soldier companion. "Jorsc, we need to take cover."
Jorsc looked confused, but then the roar of engines could be heard. Both jedi looked up and watched as two fighters zoomed towards them. Jorsc nodded to his master, and the two dashed to some fallen wreckage to watch.
They did not have to wait long.
The two fighters let loose their weapons at the same time, proton torpedoes crashing into the organic walls of the Supreme Overlord's fortress. The structure groaned under the assault, but it could not last. Soon enough, the walls too collapsed, and the fighters pulled away to rejoin the battles above.
Ganner and Jorsc left their hiding place and surveyed the sight before them. Behind them, a mass of footsteps and the hum of engines approached. Ganner turned around to face his troops.
Looking at the assembled men, Ganner felt a sense of pride. There were far more surviving troops here than he had expected. Every species, age, and gender that he had brought down to this battle had a few representatives standing before him at the ready. Their eyes were hard, and their bodies tense. Ganner did not need the force to tell that they hungered for battle, for vengeance.
Good.
"If you're expecting a speech, you won't be getting one." He began, "All I have to give you is one simple order."
He paused, letting the silence overwhelm them.
"Finish this war. Permanently."
A roar of approval answered him, and the troops raised their blaster rifles to show their support. They had all lost so much to the Vong over the years. Here, now, was their greatest chance at victory. This was their day to pay back their losses and reclaim their galaxy.
Ganner couldn't disagree with the sentiment. "What are you waiting for? Charge!" He turned on his heel and did just that, and his troops followed him into the demon's belly.
In the rush of emotions, Ganner tried very hard to push back the voice that he had heard so much these past few years as the war had dragged on. It was insistent though, and the questions it asked him made him uneasy.
Why had he felt that small moment of pleasure as he cut down his enemies? Since when had he felt vengeance was a good thing? What did it all mean?
Ganner wasn't sure he would like the answer.
Well of the World Brain
"The infidels have entered the Supreme Overlord's palace."
Following that declaration, the silence was deafening. The assembled priests and shapers did not react, instead looking at the speaker with shared expressions of grim determination. Each of them knew they had contracted the plague that ravaged Yuuzhan'Tar, the one that their leader told them the Gods had sent to punish them for showing mercy to the infidels of this galaxy.
There would be no more mercy. Least of all from them, who had nothing to live for anymore.
The priest who spoke before nodded to them all. "Then let us follow our orders."
That was all that was needed. The assembled quickly moved to their positions at the lip of the well. One by one they grabbed hold of the shaper's newest creations, given to them by the gods in the Eighth Cortex. Simultaneously, they all pressed a soft portion of the creature and a hiss filled the room. Barely visible strands of greenish tinged air began to seep out, but it was more than enough. All of the Yuuzhan Vong gathered felt the painful constriction of their chests as the gas entered their system.
As one, they threw the gas-emitting creatures into the Well.
Immediately, a deafening psychic scream brought them to their knees. The cavern around them, protected from the battles raging above, began to crumble around them. But none of the gathered cared. They knew they were dying. The World Brain itself was dying.
And Yuuzhan'Tar would die with them.
Tunnel system
Caedus had seen many evacuations over the years, both as the one helping them and the one who caused them. No matter how many times he saw them, though, he could never get used to the panicked chaos that came with. It seemed that despite all their claims of being superior, the Yuuzhan Vong felt fear just like any other sentient.
This explained why Caedus found himself leading a terrified mob of Shamed Ones through the dark tunnels towards their last hope for survival. It was not exactly the kind of chaos he was used to, probably because of the stern glares of the heretic warriors with them that kept the more panicked Shamed Ones too cowed to do anything stupid or dangerous. Still, Caedus made sure to keep track of the group of shapers just behind him carrying and tending to the still unconscious Tahiri. To his left was Vergere, who occasionally glanced at him and the others, but for the most part kept her face pointing straight ahead.
"You find it strange, do you not? That Yuuzhan Vong would act this way." Caedus's thoughts were interrupted by the out-of-place serenity of Vergere's voice.
Caedus did not respond, but Vergere simply went ahead anyway. "These Shamed Ones, heretics, for all their culture tells them to embrace pain and death are afraid. Why do you think that is, Jacen Solo?"
Caedus was struck by just how familiar this all seemed. It seemed no matter what universe he was in, Vergere still had an unnatural love for probing questions.
"It is natural." Caedus answered, "We all feel fear, whether we like it or not. It can't be escaped."
This time, Vergere turned to look at him, and Caedus was uncomfortably aware of the way she focused on his yellow eyes. The ex-Sith could not read his former master's face, but he had a sinking feeling that she understood far more about him than she let on just like his first time on Yuuzhan'Tar. In the past, this had humbled him and made him curious in her lessons.
All these years later, all it did was make him nervous.
He pushed the unwanted emotion down just as the Fosh began to speak again. "Not quite the answer I would expect from a Jedi. I wonder, what makes you different from the rest of your order?"
The group came to a halt at a fork in the tunnel, with a darker tunnel leading off to the left. If she was expecting an answer, Caedus was not going to oblige. Instead, he faced straight ahead and spoke stiffly. "What is this plan of yours?"
Vergere gave a trill-like chuckle at his obvious avoidance, but decided to play along. "These tunnels are old and abandoned, which means Shimrra's forces will not be expecting us. More importantly, though, it shields us from the attacks on the surface and leads almost directly to our destination."
"And that would be?"
"There are many ships scattered around this world, but I can only think of one that would be protected enough to guarantee us an undamaged ship large enough to carry all of these refugees."
Caedus mulled over his experience on Yuuzhan'Tar, trying to think of a place similar to the one Vergere described. The answer came to him quickly, and his eyes widened.
"The palace." He breathed with a little disbelief, "You want us to assault the palace and get into the hangar?"
"Can you think of a better option, Jacen Solo?"
Caedus honestly wished he did. But despite wracking his brain, he realized that there was not much more of an option. It seemed as if the entire planet was about to do something horrible, and he sensed that they did not have time to turn back and reevaluate their options. Resigned, he let out a deep sigh.
"No." He conceded, "So what exactly is the plan?"
"The assault team will surface just outside the palace gates themselves. Most likely, your Galactic Alliance," The ancient Jedi ignored his look at calling it his Alliance, "has already begun an assault there. A few of our most talented warriors take advantage of the confusion and slip into the hangar, get a ship, and meet us at rendezvous bunker." Vergere laid out the plan.
Caedus listened to the plan with a tired look on his face. "I suppose I'm going with the assault group?"
Vergere didn't bother confirming that. She just glanced back at Tahiri, with the implied message being very clear. He had to go with them if he wanted her to survive.
"Fine. But how exactly are we supposed to get into the hangar?"
"I am sure you will think of something, Jacen Solo." Was the only answer he got.
Vergere then turned around, and called out in the language of the Yuuzhan Vong. Seven warriors heard the order and broke from the main crowd to approach them. Vergere acknowledged them with a slight nod.
"You seven are to lead Jacen Solo to the end of this tunnel. Once there, you are to take orders from him. Get a ship and he will lead you to our destination. Understood?"
The warriors gave the aged alien jedi a salute.
"Good. Now, go."
Vergere turned to the rest of the heretics and barked another order in Yuuzhan Vong, and the group slowly trickled into the leftmost tunnel. Caedus watched as they vanished into the darker area, especially as the shapers holding Tahiri started to leave. It hit him then that he had no other options anymore. Before, he could have possibly backed out of any Vergere's plans and taken Tahiri on his own. Instead, he'd let himself get distracted and maneuvered to a position where Vergere held Tahiri, meaning he would be forced to do as she said if he wanted to get her back and help her live through all this.
The darker parts of his being seethed at being outmaneuvered, even though Caedus knew there was no guarantee that Vergere was actually doing it to manipulate him.
'Everything she says is a lie, though.' A ghostly voice whispered in his ear.
Then again, he had no proof that she hadn't done it for that purpose either.
Again, Caedus wondered at the enigma of his old master. Had Luminara been telling the truth about Vergere being a Sith? He wasn't sure. It seemed at odds with everything he had experienced with her.
Still, he knew he should be careful. It would not be the first time he thought someone wasn't on the dark side only to be proven wrong, he bitterly thought.
"Jeedai." The growl interrupted his introspection.
Caedus turned to face the scowling warrior that addressed him.
"Come, Jeedai. We do not have time to waste." Without saying any more, the speaker and his fellow warriors turned towards the right path and began to walk.
As he followed them down the path to what would surely be a battle, Caedus could not shake the dire sensations he was getting from the Force.
He would have to be very careful with everything it seemed.
A while later, Caedus and the heretic warriors reached the end of the tunnel. They turned to Caedus, awaiting orders. Apparently they trusted Vergere quite a bit to follow her orders so easily, he would have to file that information away for later. But for now, it was time to focus on the mission.
"Stay here. I'll go up and scout ahead." Caedus ordered.
Seeing they all understood, Caedus grabbed hold of the rocks jutting that were out of the wall and began to climb into the chute above. At the top was a false layer, meant to hide the tunnel, which looked like a mix of Coruscant salvage and some miscellaneous Vong-formed life. Slowly and with great care, Caedus pushed against it with his shoulder. At first, nothing happened. Then…
CLICK
With that small sound, a mechanical latch came undone and the false top gave way. The harsh sounds of battle and the glare of the sun flooded the tunnel and made Caedus wince. After taking a few moments to adjust, he climbed out and took in his surroundings.
The entrance to the tunnels was in a small rocky outcropping, just underneath the view point of the sentry post. Or, rather, just underneath the view of what used to be a sentry post. Now all that remained was smoldering wreckage. Caedus surveyed the landscape, and couldn't see any large concentrations of troops in the area.
"Wonder where they all went?" He murmured to himself.
Then he turned his attention back towards the palace, and the answer became obvious. A gaping hole in the outer wall had been opened, probably by an explosion, and sounds of blaster fire could be heard even from this far out.
"Oh." He said intelligently.
Deciding he needed more information before he walked into the crossfire, Caedus opened himself up to the Force. He extended his presence towards the palace, scanning the inhabitants within. He could sense at least a hundred people inside, but the chaos and small space was confusing the actual number. Most of them were weak in the Force, most likely soldiers. Two presence, though, were different from that.
One was larger than the others, but untamed. As if the person it reflected was still learning to control their abilities in the Force. Caedus guessed that it must be a padawan then, and where there's a padawan, there's a master. Locking onto the other large presence, he focused on it and a flash of surprise hit him.
He recognized this presence.
And more importantly, it recognized him.
Jacen! The voice came in his head. Caedus reflexively answered.
Ganner?
There was surprise, shock, and a little big of happiness at the connection on both of their sides. Caedus couldn't help but feel relieved that Ganner was alive here, that another of his mistakes could be corrected.
Suddenly, an incredible pain flooded the connection and Ganner cried out.
Just as quickly as the connection had been established, it snapped.
"Ganner?" Caedus unknowingly said aloud, "Ganner?"
There was no answer, and he couldn't sense him anymore.
"GANNER!"
END
A/N: I find it incredibly annoying that I've been struggling with this update for over a month and kept deleting everything I had, and then end up writing the entire chapter in the space of a day. I hate myself sometimes.
So…can't think of anything else to say about this chapter, really. Hmmm. There was something big but I just can't remember.
Hmmm.
Ah, it probably wasn't important anyway.
