Chapter Seven
Alema was bored. Really bored. That thought stayed with as she docked her fighter after the routine scouting mission she had just flown.
Surprisingly, she found her boredom wasn't just due to Anakin's absence either. Sure, that had a lot to do with it, but what she really didn't like was being left behind while he was out risking his neck in the Unknown Regions. It was unnatural the way trouble seemed to find him – or how he would purposely put himself in harm's way time and time again. Add Vong Girl to the mix and it was a recipe for a whole lot of 'fighting for your life' while trying to stay alive when faced with impossible odds.
She had only stayed back because Anakin had asked her to. Apparently he didn't think having her and Tahiri holed up in a small ship together for days on end was such a good idea. She supposed she couldn't blame him for that, but she had promised to keep her flirtation down whenever the blond Jedi was around. She figured she owed Tahiri that much considering she had saved her life several months back – and Alema hated being in debt to anyone. Of course it wasn't her fault that Tahiri had left for Jedi training and she'd had Anakin all to herself. She knew Anakin was never going to choose her over Tahiri, but being close friends with him was better than nothing at all. It also meant she could have a little fun with him every now and then. He was so easy to embarrass.
Despite her agreeing to stay behind, she had demanded to know what in Hutt's name would require him to drop everything to travel to the Unknown Regions. She had known about his visions already but thought they had disappeared. Apparently they had come back with a vengeance and there was this Jedi Master who supposedly specialized in that sort of thing that he thought could help.
The fact that his sister, who never took a day off, was using a chunk of her accumulated leave to go with him told Alema it was a lot more serious than Anakin was making these visions out to be. Trust him to downplay something like that – just like he had with his injuries at Myrkr and it had very nearly cost him his life. She loved Anakin but sometimes he was even crazier than her – and that was saying something.
In Jaina's absence, she had left Zekk in charge of Rogue Squadron. For the life of her, Alema couldn't figure out why. That was the other part of the reason why she was so bored. Zekk was a competent enough pilot but he played it safe – too safe for Alema's liking. They were on the verge of facing annihilation by an enemy that showed no mercy. She believed they should return the gesture in kind and kill as many Vong as they could.
It was times like now, after returning from yet another uneventful scouting mission of the nearby Imperial sector to ensure the Vong weren't on their way, Alema realized how much she had undervalued Jaina Solo as squadron leader. She made Alema follow all her rules – a condition of allowing her into the squadron – but her flying style and even her personality at times were very similar to Anakin's. They were both impulsive, reckless and dedicated with a flare for dramatic rescues and death defying moves that would have other pilots blasted into space dust. It made her wonder what had gone wrong with their brother, Jacen. He couldn't be more different from his siblings. If it weren't for the simple fact that he and Jaina were twins she would swear he was adopted.
Before Alema even pushed up the canopy on her X-wing she could hear the warning klaxon blaring in the hanger bay. Was it another drill? Or were they under attack? That seemed unlikely considering she had just come from space and aside from Star Destroyers and Galactic Alliance ships nothing else had been in the vicinity.
Frowning, she stretched out with her senses to see if she could discern what was going on. When she found pockets in the Force, her mood darkened. Vong – at least three of them. They were close by too if she had sensed them – or rather sensed the absence of them this quickly.
Zekk and Ganner, having disembarked from their own fighters, hurried over to her. From their expressions, they too had figured out there were Vong on the Ralroost.
"Looks like we've got a few stowaways," Ganner commented dryly.
"Looks that way," Alema responded with a snarl.
"How did they even make it on board?" Zekk said. "There's new security systems in place to prevent that."
By that he meant any cargo or personnel that boarded the Ralroost were required to submit to screening by a Jedi to ensure they were not a Yuuzhan Vong hidding beneath an ooglith masquer.
Zekk's comlink went off in his pocket. He retrieved it and switched it on. "This is Zekk."
"Zekk? Thank the Force you're back."
Zekk's eyebrows rose. "Ambassador Solo?"
"As you've probably already noticed we have a few Yuuzhan Vong onboard," Leia hurried on, dispensing with any pleasantries. "Are you still in the main hanger bay?"
The three Jedi could hear the heavy concern, almost frantic tone of her voice. "Yes."
"Those Yuuzhan Vong are after Jacen. They're in there with him right now and you can probably get there the fastest from where you are. Han and I are on our way with additional support."
"We're on it," Zekk said and ended the transmission.
Alema's lips curled into a feral grin. Her boredom was about to end.
[*[*[*[*[*[
The corridor that led to the secluded cargo hold was eerily quiet. The warning klaxon that had been sounding through the ship for the last ten minutes had finally stopped. Whether that meant there were Yuuzhan Vong elsewhere and had taken control of the ship's systems or the head of security had finally realized the deafening noise wasn't helping, Zekk didn't know. At the moment it didn't matter either. His focus was on stopping the Yuuzhan Vong from taking his friend.
The cargo hold itself was anything but silent. As Ganner, Alema and himself moved stealthily toward it, a sharp angry sounding alien language could be heard following by a loud, resounding thud as something heavy was dropped.
Zekk's eyes widened in alarm at what he saw. The loud noise they'd heard had been the carbonite block dropping to the floor, no longer held up by anti grav generators. That wasn't the alarming part though. He had done enough supply runs with Peckham to know his way around carbonite pretty well. The sequence of flashing lights on the side panel along with the reddish hue tinting the carbonite told him the unfreezing process had been initiated.
"Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it does," said Ganner, observing the same thing.
"It means exactly that," Zekk returned, his tone grim. "They've started the unfreezing process."
"I guess they didn't get the memo that says why he's in carbonite in the first place," said Alema. "They think they're kidnapping a Solo when they're just going to end up with a Jedi zombie."
The presence of the three Jedi did not go unnoticed by the extragalactic aliens in the room. One of the warriors spoke sharply in his native tongue to the other two. He seemed to be barking orders as himself and a second warrior advanced on the Jedi, while the last one remained behind to watch the carbonite.
Before Zekk could even utter a plan of attack, Alema's lightsaber sprang to life and she charged at the approaching warriors.
Zekk swore, his own lightsaber held protectively in front of him. Trust Alema to just rush in to the path of waiting Yuuzhan Vong and think she could take them on herself.
"Ganner, give Alema a hand," he spoke to the older Jedi. "I'll take the one by Jacen. There's still a chance I can stop the unfreezing process before it goes too far."
"I don't think Alema's going to appreciate me evening the odds," Ganner commented but he ran over to assist the Twi'lek nonetheless.
For a race that despised anything technological, it was eerie how familiar a Vong seemed to be around carbonite. Almost as if someone had taught him what to do. Zekk, however, didn't have the time to dwell on that any further as his lightsaber absorbed a forward slash by the warrior's amphistaff. He found himself in an impossible situation. He couldn't begin to stop the unfreezing process until he dealt with the warrior at hand. He could only imagine what it would do to Jaina to come back and find her twin having fully succumbed to the Sickness. That might be the breaking point for her. She'd already had enough close brushes to the Dark side he feared what losing Jacen would do to her.
He summoned several of the cargo crates in the room and sent them hurling at the warrior. They did what Zekk had hoped they would. The warrior was knocked off balance as he combated the large heavy objects flying at him from every direction. Zekk used that opening to push his attack, striking a hit beneath the vulnerable spot in the warrior's armor where there was no protection. The pain of the blow seemed to spur the warrior on and he came at Zekk harder than ever.
He didn't have time to see how Ganner and Alema were fairing against the own opponents, but frowned when he felt Alema's emotions. Excitement and enjoyment mixed in with barely controlled rage. At least with Ganner Zekk was relieved to see the older Jedi wasn't enjoying himself. He was focused and calm with a hint of a swagger – which wasn't altogether surprising considering it was Ganner. Alema was the one he needed to be worried about but he couldn't deal with that right then.
In his haste to end the battle, Zekk made the wrong move and the fanged mouth of the amphistaff head latched onto his shoulder. He used the Force to flush out the toxins from the bite but it left his attention divided and the warrior clubbed his legs out from under him before kicking him in the rib cage. Rather than finish him off, the warrior went back to the block of carbonite. Zekk watched in horror as the unfreezing process completed and the human form of Jacen Solo emerged from the carbonite.
Summoning every ounce of strength he had left, Zekk staggered to his feet. He watched as the Vong knelt over Jacen, hiding most of his unconscious form from sight. As he staggered forward, he got a closer look at what was going on. The Vong held what looked to be the organic equivalent of a syringe and placed it against Jacen's neck before pressing down on the end of it. Then it seemed to put something in his ear but he couldn't get a look at what it was.
Ganner, having defeated his own opponent, finished off the one Zekk had been attempting to take out.
Zekk felt his legs give out beneath him and would have collapsed to the ground if Alema hadn't caught him.
"Take it easy, Zekk," she said to him.
He ignored her and continued to move forward – albeit with Alema's help. "They put something in him," he told the two Jedi.
"We need to get him somewhere secure," said Ganner, voice grim.
The words had barely left his mouth when Jacen's parents, flagged by a contingent of Galactic Alliance soldiers entered the cargo bay.
Zekk saw their eyes immediately drawn toward their son who was starting to stir. He closed himself off to the Force at that moment, not wanting to feel their horror and pain because Jacen was going to turn completely now.
[*[*[*[*[*[
Jaina hung back near the Jade Shadow while Jag held a quick meeting with Vanguard Squadron. When the group broke up, each pilot headed for his or her Clawcraft. With their purpose for being at Durace over, they would now be on their way to Csilla while the Dozen and Jade Shadow made the trip back to Galactic space.
Ignoring the feeling like everyone in Vanguard was watching her, Jaina approached Jag. He was just preparing to board his fighter but stopped when he saw her.
"How long will it take you to reach Csilla?" She asked him.
"About a day," he responded.
"That's a lot better than what we're facing."
"The Jade Shadow is quite the ship. It should provide for a comfortable ride out of the Unknown Regions."
"Oh, I'm sure everything with the ship will be fine. I even made a few modifications that should help with speed."
"You were referring to your brother and Tahiri," Jag said, realization dawning on him.
She nodded. "The two of them just feel off. Sorry, that's the only way I can describe it," she said, knowing it was difficult for him to understand. "Neither one of them is saying much but I know things have been different for them since we found Meina Anbra. Put me in a fighter and point to some skips that need vaping and I know exactly what to do. Sitting still isn't really my strong suit and short of hitting the holo libraries I don't know how else I can help either one of them right now," she said, frustration evident into her voice.
"It may seem hopeless now but I've gotten to know you Solos well enough to see that you have unnatural amounts of luck. I believe everything will sort itself out."
He meant his words to be comforting but all it did was serve to remind Jaina that he wouldn't be around to see anything sort itself out. It was moments like this she was grateful Jag wasn't Force sensitive so he wouldn't know how badly she wanted him to stay.
"So this is it, huh?"
"At least for awhile anyways."
Seconds ticked by with neither of them speaking. Maybe it was simply because there was nothing more to say. Short of some galactic miracle the chances of them seeing each other again were slim. She was glad Threepio wasn't around to calculate the odds. It was much more likely one or both of them would end up dead before the war was over.
She had told Zekk she didn't want a relationship. She had enough to worry about with her friends and family as it was without throwing a romance into the mix. It didn't mean she would always feel that way but a romantic attachment of any kind during war was only going to lead to heartache and more pain.
Even with that knowledge, she realized she could no longer deny the feelings she had for Jag, especially when faced with the prospect of saying good bye to him – if not forever, then for a very long time. Acting on a whim, she leaned up and kissed him. She could feel his immediate surprise and considered pulling away until she felt him return the kiss.
There had been a few brief moments over the years when Jaina had allowed herself to wonder what it would be like to kiss Jagged Fel. Reality proved to be much better than anything she could have imagined in her head. Never before had she experienced this level of raw emotion from Jag as his lips moved over hers.
When they finally parted, the only words Jaina said to him was, "stay alive out there, Jag." She didn't care that it came out sounding like a plea.
"You as well. Don't take any more risks than you have to."
At that, Jaina gave a small smile and nodded.
Jag proceeded to board his fighter as Jaina walked back to the Jade Shadow. Within five minutes, all of Vanguard Squadron was in the air destined for space.
[*[*[*[*[*[
Jacen Solo awoke feeling disoriented and like he had been left outside in the cold for too long. He opened his eyes and could only see darkness. He tried to move and felt himself being held in place by restraints. He didn't let himself panic – not yet anyway. He reached out with his senses to get a better understanding of his surroundings and was immediately overcome by an extreme wave of nausea and dizziness. Wherever he was it was not a favorable situation.
"Jacen, it's all right. You're safe."
He immediately recognized the voice. "Mom?"
"I'm right here and so is your father."
"How you feeling, kid?"
Jacen relaxed slightly at hearing the familiar voices of his parents. "I've been better," he responded with a shiver.
A moment later a blanket was thrown over top of him.
"Thanks. What's going? I can't see and why am I in restraints?"
"It was just a precaution," his mother explained to him. "We weren't quite sure what to expect when you woke up. Danni, I think your tests prove he's fine and he feels fine to me. Can we get these restraints off him?"
A moment later Jacen's hands and feet were released and he moved them to try and get the circulation back. It was no easy feat either considering he couldn't use the Force without feeling like he was going to pass out.
"You're feeling the effects of hibernation sickness," a voice Jacen recognized as Danni's spoke. "The blindness will go away soon and so should your other symptoms. I've never worked on anyone who's been through a carbonite freezing process but since you're a Jedi it might be effecting your other abilities as well."
"Carbonite?" Jacen repeated, a note of alarm in his voice.
"What's the last thing you remember?" His father asked him.
Jacen's mind was foggy but this time when he used the Force to help clear it the resulting side effects were much smaller. "I was on Valc trying to bring back the information the Imperials had on Project I71A so a vaccine could be made."
As Jacen said those words, a flash of images played back in his mind – being infected by the creatures he encountered there; asking Anakin to end his life before he turned; Tahiri frantically trying to heal him; saying good bye to Tenal Ka; Anakin's plan to encase him in carbonite to stop the sickness from spreading and then nothing.
"You found a cure?" He said suddenly.
"Not us, the Yuuzhan Vong."
"Zekk?"
"Yeah, it's me Jacen."
"Who else is here?" He didn't like not being able to fully sense everything going on around him. That was more disorienting than anything else.
"Just us and a few armed guards outside the room," his father answered. "Your brother and sister are off on a mission right now."
"Could someone please explain how the Yuuzhan Vong cured me?"
"We're not sure how they did it," Danni replied. "The Yuuzhan Vong boarded the Ralroost and were trying to kidnap you. They released you from carbonite and from what Zekk saw it looks like they injected you with something. It seemed to reverse the effects of the Project I71A virus. We ran dozens of tests but as far as we can see there's no trace of it in your system. You're completely cured."
"You sound troubled," Jacen observed. Without his eyes functioning he was relying more on his other senses to help him out.
"We've managed to create an inoculation against the virus – thanks to the research you brought back from Valc – but a cure has proven to be much trickier. We've spent months studying the virus and have just begun lab trials to test several variations of what we think is a cure. Yet, it looks like the Yuuzhan Vong have already found one. I've taken some samples of your blood to see if we can replicate it."
Jacen felt a shiver that had nothing to do with hibernation sickness. "Months? How long was I in carbonite?"
"Almost four months," his mother answered.
Jacen sucked in a sharp breath of air. How much had changed in that time? What was going on with the war? Where was Tenal Ka and was she all right? Instead of asking any of those he settled for, "why would they do that – cure me?"
"Because Shimrra wants you, your sister and your brother delivered to him on a platter," Han scowled. "He probably figured there was never going to be an easier way to kidnap one of you, and knowing the Vong he would want you to be cured so he could torture you," he finished darkly.
"We're still figuring out how the Yuuzhan Vong got on the ship," Zekk spoke. "There's no way they could have gotten through the new checkpoints without help."
"We're handling it," his mother told him and Jacen felt her reach for his hand. "You just need to rest."
"Yeah, take it from someone who knows what hibernation sickness feels like," his father added. "You have the luxury of lying in a bed to recover and not battling mercenaries in the middle of a sarlacc pit. I wasn't so lucky."
Jacen let out a small chuckle, remembering how many times his father had told that story to Jaina, Ankain and himself growing up. At the thought of his siblings, he said, "so what's this mission Jaina and Anakin are on?"
