"What in the name of...," Steffan began to ask as the Sith had already made their way out. By that time, static started to come over his wristcomm and through Arie's commlink with Myk's voice starting to show.
"Meet me where a Jedi dueled a Vong for the sake of a planet. Bring everyone."
"What in the name of all things holy is going on here," Charles asked with expressions of confusion on his face.
"My thoughts exactly," his brother stated as both looked at Steffan, Arie, and Ainar.
"I don't think you really want to know," Steffan said as he pulled his wristcomm. "Ryneas, are you alright?"
"For the moment, what the hell just happened...sorry dad."
"Its alright, I'm to that point myself," Steffan told him as he looked around to the others in the room. "Son, I need you to alert your mother, Dilan, and Andrea. We may need to meet up at some point..."
"Dad," Ryneas told him. "I tried already...I got mother and Andrea, but I couldn't reach Dilan. There was no answer on his comm."
"Alright then." Now Arie was seeing Steffan biting back a series of curses under his breath. "Start unlocking Blue Talon's docking clamps and be ready to set a course for Ithor once we're aboard."
"Aye, dad."
"Steffan," Arie said as she caught his attention. "You've got Blue Talon here?"
"Aye, I thought it would be a wise precaution, and now..."
"Brother," Arie tried to tell him. "I think they might be able to compromise Blue Talon now."
"What?" Steffan asked as he looked at her, then Charles and his brother. "What are you talking about?"
The Maw
There it sat...just on the edges of the Maw Cluster. The computer read the gravitaional pull on the old battered cruiser at ten meters per hour. Within two days, the Jedi aboard would be lost to the black holes that made up this astrogational anomaly.
Myk checked his scanners for the hundredth time. He was running at full power, so anyone within the system would know he was there. Still, he wasn't picking up anything. There were no mines, no fighters, nothing. Just the battered cruiser. He ran through the cloak-finding program Talon had Ghent produce...it had cost him a great deal, and he wasn't even sure if it worked. But the Rogue trusted Karrde. The cloak-finder read negative as well.
He tried hailing the battered cruiser to no avail. There were Jedi aboard, but they seemed far too peaceful for captives of war. They're sleeping, Myk nodded as he opened his eyes. Well, there's nothing for it. I just hope I can fit them all in the Firebird.
With a steady hand, Myk-Ron Dinn flew his ship into the hanger bay of the old cruiser...
Rescuing a people he didn't completely agree with, so he could fight in a war he wasn't sure he wanted to fight, against an enemy that wanted nothing more than revenge...
Something inside him balked at the idea...the Force? But there was something about Myk that differentiated him from Jedi and Sith alike. He truly did not care about the galaxy or the people in it. He held his friends and loved ones above all else...that was why he was rescuing these Jedi. That was why he would fight in this war. Because his friends would be, and he would protect them, no matter the cost...
Arie angrily reached out through the Force and snatched the datacard up, staring at the location where sith had just stood.
"Oh no! Not on MY watch!" Arie cursed outloud, ripping the tattered boa fringe from the top of her dress. The dress was a total loss, but that did not concern Arie at the moment.
"Charles," Arie said, turning towards her former brothers-in law. "We are going to need more of those sphere things... a lot more." Arie said.
"We'll have as many produced as the factory will allow en lieu of the original data plans missing." Erik answered confidently.
"Steffan, these energy spheres could disable Blue Talon in a nanosecond...if we could manage to use them against the Sith and their fleets, we could easily take them. As well as help from my most hated creature..." Arie said, slyly smiling, her military genius showing.
"Ysalamari..." Steffan answered as Arie nodded.
"I really hate those things...but between my husband, myself, the spheres and the ysalamari and all the Jedi we can gather plus my fleets...we'll give them the fight they've been wanting..." Arie continued. "Ainar, you picked a helluva time to come home." She sarcastically said. Ainar shrugged.
"We must regroup." Steffan said.
"We are on planetary lock-down, remember?" Charles answered, looking over at his brother, Erik. Erik had been on his comm with his CorSec staff, ignoring Arie and Steffan's conversation.
"Latest news is one hundred warships exited hyper-space in our system, set off our invasion alarms and triggered response teams, and then winked out of the system. No trace of them anywhere." Erik relayed to them.
"Vector points?" Steffan asked.
"None, they targeted our radar systems before we could get a trace." Erik rattled off the news as it came to him on his commlink.
"They were showing their strength in numbers...coaxing a fight." Arie answered, analyzing the facts she had just heard.
"If one-hundred ships were within striking distance of Corellia, one of the most heavily-guarded and patrolled systems, then I hate to see what..." Ainar began.
"Coruscant! I must get in touch with Major Maxell and Colonel Turner...and my husband..." Arie immediately realized. She thumbed her comm on and punched in Maxell's secure frequency code but only got static.
She looked up at Charles. "Towers are dead...We were hit." She said numbly.
"Word coming in that Kuat Drive Yards were torn apart... Jedi Temple breeched...Bilbringi Shipyards hit...Storage and grain centers destroyed...Andalor's mining operations shutdown..." Erik continued.
"Livda? They hit Livda's moon?" Charles asked in disbelief. "That makes no sense."
"Sure it does...Coruscant is my military home, Corellia my home away from home and Livda my permanent home...I'm surprised they didn't hit Coshack...They were trying to drive a point home with me and my husband..." Arie replied. "Speaking of which, they mention Msst, my husband's childhood homeworld..." Arie said as she punched in a code for Myk-Ron's ship.
"I'm busy!" came a gruff reply.
"Well if you weren't busy playing sabacc maybe you'd be interested in the fact we were just paid a little visit." Arie shortly retorted.
"Jedi Acadamy breeched...Coruscant manufacturing totalled...Nexus Station infilitrated...Bothwui is sending in reports of enemy ships in their system...Silver Station...Ryloth..." Erik continued to report.
"Hit by sith? Same here. Kuat yards are totally demolished." Myk-Ron came over the comm. "I'm in the middle of trying to get some Jedi aboard a ship..."
"Sounds like they hit the Corellian Run and Perlemian Trade Route." Charles commented as Erik continued to receive reports from CorSec and CorDef.
"What about Sluis Van?" Arie immediately perked up, disregarding her husband's voice for a moment.
"Nothing on that side of the galaxy was hit. Just Core Worlds and the Run and Trade Routes..." Erik answered over the comm static.
"Listen, the lead gave me a message for you...he said: 'We have taken your temple, and the Jedi within. We have taken all the Jedi in the galaxy. They all wait on a ship in the middle of nowhere for your rescue. The Sith have declared war on the Jedi. This was merely a show to convince you that we are not playing. We shall leave your Jedi where they are and we shall leave the planets you control. We will wait at Msst. There, one of the first Sith sought refuge. We invite you to come and try to wrest it from our hands. You have a month to gather your army and meet us there. We shall be waiting. If you choose not to show, we shall unleash our fleet upon this galaxy and begin taking systems one by one... Myk, Myk, you still there?" Arie asked as her com started to fade out.
"Lost him?" Steffan asked.
"Yea, damned batteries must be dead...he said something about Jedi aboard a ship and the Kuat Drive Yards...he must be near there." Arie answered.
"Alright, let's all get to an armored ship, we've got work to do. Steffan, get Blue Talon and cloak the damn thing, wouldya? Don't want to risk losing you...You and Ainar go check out the Temple and the Academy, but be careful. I'm going to meet up with my husband and then I want all of us to meet on Livda at my house..." Arie began to lay out plans.
"Why not Cataan?" Steffan volunteered.
"Because I want you to put your family in hiding on Cataan...I will not risk the royal family by us meeting there. Livda is safer, the side of the galaxy the Sith did not seem to hit." Arie answered.
"Go in peace, my friend." Charles offered to Steffan as they shook hands.
"Force be with you, Master." Ainar said, hugging Arie.
"See you in two days at my house. Force be with you." Arie returned.
"Change of plans," Steffan told Ryneas as he walked into the pilot's cabin of White Squall with Ainar behind him. "I want you and Ainar to head for home to pick up Callista, Xan, and Ter-lon. I'll go ahead and contact then on my way to Chandrila to see if the Sith attacked the Academy."
"Steffan," Ainar said softly, "I'm still not sure if it is wise for me to go there just yet."
"It'll be alright. Besides, you must see him sometime," Steffan told him encouragingly. "And you'll need to pick up the Valiant from the hangar anyway...you'll need a ship."
"The Valiant? How did you get her?"
"I was playing a hunch when I was looking for you last year," Steffan said as Ryneas was warming up the ship. "Ran into that pirate's nest you had dropped her off at and cleared it out. She's still tuned and ready to go."
"Dad?" Ryneas called to him as he broke orbit. "Blue Talon's ready for separation. Probably need to go ahead and take her out."
"Right you are," Steffan said as he patted his son's shoulder and rested the other on Ainar's. "Force be with you both. I'll let Mother know you're both on your way."
"You found him?" Jade asked on the hypercom between Cataan and Blue Talon.
"He and Ryneas are on their way from Corellia right now," Steffan told her. "Make sure that Callista and Xan are ready to go in a few hours. Andrea can either take her X-wing or ride on White Squall or Valiant."
"I'm sorry daddy," his daughter said as her image appeared just below the image of her mother. "I'm not going to be able to come with you on this one."
"Why is..." Steffan was beginning to ask before his senses and a moment of clarity hit him. Is it possible? "How far along?"
"Three months," Andrea told him. "Edward and I just found out this morning while you were away."
"Well..." he was speechless. He knew it was going to happen, but it still caught him off guard...the second time today even. "Then, I'm going to say that you take my future grandchild, Catharine and your mother...and make sure you're all safe with everything that's going on."
"Is it going to be like Rhen Var and Endor all over again?" Jade asked, concerned.
"My love...I fear that this is going to be much worse," he told them truthfully. "Ryneas hasn't been able to reach Dilan, but I think he's alright. I'm going to try to look for him after I've finished checking things at the Academy. Arie's wanting us to meet her on Livda after that."
"Just be careful," Jade told him. "That's all I ask because I'm not going to raise this grandchild alone."
"I give you my word."
Aboard the Firebird – The Maw
The last of the Jedi was secured in the cargo hold. Tables, chairs, and cushions were scrounged from the aging cruiser to accommodate all the passengers now aboard the Firebird.
"Thank you, Jedi Dinn," A member of the council said. "Without your assistance we would have had a difficult time..."
"Stow it," Myk sighed. "It's Master Dinn to you, pal, and without my 'assistance' you would have had a lot more than a difficult time. If I hadn't flown out here and gotten you off that aging rust bucket, you and your council would end up free-floating atoms."
"Really?" The council member asked, slightly taken aback. "I don't recall the council ever granting you the rank of Master..."
"You pompous bunch of arrogant windbags," Myk fumed. "What makes you think you have the right to decide whether or not a person has mastered the Force? What makes you think you have? I could show you things that would blow your mind, and you have the gall to tell me that I'm not a Master because your 'Council' never granted me the title? I was granted my rank by Luke Skywalker himself. Give me a break!" Myk stormed off before the council member could get another word in, and he sealed himself in the cockpit. He thought he was alone, but sensed a familiar presence in the co-pilot's chair.
"I hope you don't mind," Came the voice of Steffan's adopted son, Dilan.
"Not at all, Kid," Myk offered a weak smile. "The comm board's right there. Call your dad; I know he's probably going crazy right now not knowing where you are. Tell everyone that I've got the Jedi and we're on a course for the planet where we're meeting right now. Remind them, it's where a Jedi fought a Vong for the sake of a planet."
"Isn't that..." Dilan asked.
"Ithor," Myk answered. "Just don't say it over the comm. We don't need a tail."
"Aye," Dilan agreed as he set to work on the comm station.
Myk-Ron returned his attention to piloting the Firebird, and soon the ship was rocketing through hyperspace for Ithor...
Arie hugged her grandson tightly to her as Ter-lon kissed her on the forehead after pulling out of her embrace.
"I'm so glad you weren't taken." Arie softly whispered.
"My mission had me far away from the action," Ter-Lon shrugged. "I got your comm, and came as quickly as I could. Grand ma'ma? What about the ones who were taken?" Ter-lon asked.
"Myk-R... Your Grandfather is seeing to that. I've transmitted a new comlink code to him so he can reach us here on Livda without it being compromised." Arie answered.
"So what do we do now?" Ter-Lon asked as he and Arie inventoried their stock of weapons at the house.
Arie's commlink was chirping wildly and she grabbed it off the nearby table.
"Myk?" She asked, hoping it was him on his way home...
"Yeah," Myk replied. "I've got a cargo hold full of pompous council members and Jedi sheep. I wanted to get to Ithor as quick as possible so we could get organized, but I've heard now that you've made other arrangements to meet on Livda?"
"Yes."
Myk banged his head on the console. "Why? Did you not get my message? Did you not get the code? I don't understand..."
"Trust me, Myk-Ron," Arie pleaded. "I have weapons here. Weapons that will help in this coming war."
"Great," Myk said, a little too sharply. "Put them on a ship and get your ass to Ithor. The planet may be dead but the Jedi need to gather there. They need to see and feel that wound in Force. They need to come to realize a few things...and besides, Ithor is a perfect staging point for the outer rim and Msst. I should know." The Rogue sighed. "Babe, I don't want to fight, we can't afford it right now. Please, just do this for me. Get a good sized cruiser, load up these weapons of yours and call your military. Ithor needs to be our backstop in this war, where one Rogue defied a culture so shall another..."
Steffan had finished punching up enough channels to start up a conference over the hypercomm as he was pulling Blue Talon in a gentle arch to line up with his exit vector.
"So they didn't take anyone from the academy?" Arie asked from her side of the call on Livda.
"Its location on Chandrilla isn't exactly common knowledge," Ainar told her from White Squall, still on Cataan. "Nor is the fact that it's on Chandrilla."
"That doesn't mean that someone that had turned Sith could have given over the location," Myk answered that question from Firebird. "Or just tortured one of our own for the information."
"Well, figuring that out can wait till later," Steffan said as he finished inputting his hyperspace bearings. "You've got everyone off?"
"Everyone including me," Dilan said from Firebird's copilot's seat. "There's been some heated debate since then, but everyone's appreciated Myk's effort."
"Good to hear," Steffan said as he just remembered to deliver some news. "By the way, Dilan, Andrea asked me to tell you to be ready to be an uncle pretty soon."
"Steffan? Did I just hear you right?" Arie and Dilan both asked around the same time. And that had brought out a laugh from Steffan, Myk and Ainar.
"Yes, I get to see how it is to be a grandfather," Steffan told them as he was still chuckling. It was good to still be able to do that given what was happening. "I'm fixing to head to Ithor now...I suggest we all go ahead and start gathering."
Livda
The rain poured down from a pitch-black sky and distant lightning cracked across the cloud cover, lighting up Arie's living room for periodic brief seconds before the room was dark again.
Her husband and friends had already left to gather on Ithor, leaving her behind on Livda to finish loading her arsenal of weapons and ammo on two transports that were to be slaved together upon reaching orbit.
She had been short with her husband when he had called before picking Ter-lon up and taking him with him. He hadn't even departed from his ship to greet her. Myk-Ron had remained onboard the Firebird waiting for the others to board before making a hasty retreat off Livda. Arie assumed he must be pretty sore at her if he hadn't even wanted to see her. She would make it up to him...somehow.
She shed her tunic and black pants before stepping inside the refresher. Hot water ran over her bare skin as she leaned her weight on her hands against the wall, letting the water roll down her back. She breathed deeply, inhaling warm moist air and closed her eyes.
She did not like fighting with her husband but she did not have patience for his rogue actions like she had early in their marriage. Even though her body was younger now, her heart still felt a lifetime older...her mind filled with memories she could not forget although she may have wished them gone...
Father said this day would come...the suns of Coruscant were blackened as silken cloth...double eclipses a year ago...Father be with me, I don't know how we are going to win this one... Arie silently thought to herself as the hot water poured over her body and she turned around, leaning her back against the wall, water pouring over her face and closed eyes. She finally turned the water off and stepped out of the 'fresher, towling herself dry quietly.
With the towel wrapped around her tightly and another smaller towel tied up in her wet hair, she crossed from the bathroom to the kitchen in her spacious house. Dank and Chann, her two hounds, followed at her heels across the kitchen floor silently as she opened a cabinet beside the fridge, locating a decanter of Coshakian whiskey. She poured herself some and quickly downed it before pouring another.
A soft whine from Dank made her look down to see her hounds silently begging, long looks upon their faces and a pleading look in their eyes.
"Oh, you two want some too?" Arie joked, knowing the hounds were not interested in whiskey but rather something from the fridge. Arie opened it and found pieces of summer Livdian sausage and tossed them to the hounds, each one quickly grabbing up the sausage and swallowing it. Arie shook her head, smiling, amused at her hounds.
Now I remember why I named you two after Brink's crewmen...you two are such rim rats, its unbelievable. Arie thought to herself as she walked from the kitchen to her bedroom and slipped a black nightgown on, the two hounds following.
Lightning flashes lit the room briefly before the clap of thunder followed. The storm had gotten closer and more intense as lightning continued to cast shadows upon the walls. The hounds whined, concerned, but Arie petted their heads, calming them.
She tied her hair up with a black ribbon and commanded the hounds to lay down beside the bed. They did as told and she slid into bed. She lay back into the arms of a black-clothed sithly stranger whose eyes glowed red with hate and its arms closed around her tightly in the darkness...
You will come to me...give in to your hate...
Arie awoke with a start, drenching in cold sweat and her heart racing. She quickly looked where the sith had been laying in her bed and found nothing. No sign of anyone in her bed other than her. Lightning flashed again, illuminating her room for her to see no one was in her room. Dank and Chan lifted their heads and whined to her.
"It's alright boys...lay down." She whispered, easing herself back into the bed, shaking the feeling of the nightmare off of her.
"I may have been gone for a year," Ainar said on a secured connection between Valiant and Blue Talon. "But I know egos when I see and hear them. Those two would even go against each other just to make sure the Sith are defeated."
Nodding, Steffan couldn't help but agree with Ainar's take on Arie and Myk's not talking to the other and both itching to take the fight to the enemy now. "I can't fault it. But they're as needed as everyone else. ... Ainar, wouldn't you say this a dire situation?"
"About as dire as I've seen it," Ainar quietly said.
Steffan's idea started taking shape now. "Dire enough to, say, call in things that people don't know about?"
Ainar caught the drift and paused in his thinking as he considered it. "The Beacon?"
"I think its time to do just that," Steffan said as he sat up. "How soon can you get here and meet up?"
"I'm about to jump for the Ithor rendezvous now," Ainar answered him. "I can be there in a few hours. What are you going to tell Myk?"
"That we're going to be pulling in some extra help."
Ithor
The Valiant rode through the air, following the landing coordinates for the site where a Jedi once dueled against a Vong.
Ainar set the craft down and set the engines for standby mode. He gathered his things, attached his respirator and lowered the ramp.
Time to feel the fire... Ainar walked down the ramp and shielded his eyes against the sand, there was a storm brewing.
The planet was almost dead after the Vong invasion. It was mostly sand and rocks, with a few patches of green starting to grow again. The oxygen in the atmosphere was low, but plants were starting to grow, creating more oxygen, rebuilding the planet.
"Ainar! Over here!" Steffan called in a muffled voice
Ainar looked over to where his friend was standing, covering his mouth was a similar respirator.
Ainar walked over to Steffan and shook his hand. They walked together to the temporary shelter the Jedi had built into the rock face.
When they were inside they unfastened the respirators from their faces and dusted the sand off their clothes.
Ainar looked around to see if anyone was around. "You got the codes?"
Steffan nodded and handed Ainar a datapad. "It's all there, we should be able to activate the Beacon with these codes."
"Good, I just hope that thing is still operational," Ainar said, resting his backpack on the ground.
"What are you doing here..."
Ainar turned around and saw Myk standing there, arms crossed.
"Not now Myk...this can wait," Steffan responded, coming to the aid of his friend.
"I don't trust him…not one bit, that backstabbing nerf-herder," Myk spat out, moving closer to Ainar. "So you're back are you...the glorious Jedi Master, back from exile to save the day. Just don't kill one of your friends this time, alright?"
Ainar took a breath and looked Myk in the eye. "Now you listen - you self centered ego-maniac, I'm back, you need my help and you know it, not because I'm special...just because I'm willing to help, and this time around we need everyone that's able." Ainar started moving slowly towards Myk, "And if you can't handle that, then too bad. I don't care. I'm back, and I'm here to help."
Myk looked dumbfounded at Ainar, not sure what to say.
Steffan smiled at the two and shook his head. "Let's go Ainar, we need to hurry, and we better take the Valiant for this one, the Blue Talon would give us away immediately"
Ainar nodded and attached the respirator to his face.
"Myk, I'll be in contact," Steffan said as he and Ainar left the shelter.
Myk nodded back. "I'll be waiting for your call."
Echoes of a past gone by...
And even though the moment passed me by
I still can't turn away
I saw all the dreams you never thought you'd lose
Tossed along the way
And letters that you never meant to send
Get lost or thrown away
And now we're grown up orphans
That never knew their names
We don't belong to no one
That's a shame
But if you could hide beside me
Maybe for a while
And I won't tell no one your name
And I won't tell 'em your name
Scars are souvenirs you never lose
The past is never far
Did you lose yourself somewhere out there
Did you get to be a star
And don't it make you sad to know that life
Is more than who we are
We grew up way too fast
And now there's nothing to believe
And reruns all become our history
A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio
And I won't tell no one your name
And I won't tell 'em your name
I won't tell 'em your name
I won't tell 'em your name...
I think about you all the time
But I don't need the same
It's lonely where you are come back down
And I won't tell 'em your name...
Arie cried herself to sleep the second night she stayed alone on Livda. She had postponed her departure date due to the inclement weather that seemed to be plaguing Livda's fair-weather Jovian orbit.
She missed her husband deeply and now that she was seven months pregnant, she wished she could muster an apology and hear the sound of his voice again. Her pride, however would not let her...He had offended her position and career and she felt her husband would never understand her.
The dark nightmares of the sith haunted her dreams once more, and once more she awoke with a start, finding herself alone with her two hounds in her home. She would depart the following day if the severe thunderstorms ceased...
Myrkr...a few days later
"Force damn those things!" Arie cursed outloud as she stepped off of her transport ship and was hit by coldness as the Force left her senses. Her former step-brother Admiral Thrawn had come to Myrkr years before to use the ysalamari to capture Luke Skywalker...now she was gathering the lizards to defeat the Sith...
Curse my step-brother for ever having set foot on this wretched planet!
She had landed on Myrkr with room enough to hold at least 2000 ysalamari with nutrient frames to accompany them.
Now I just have to gather the damned things. Arie thought to herself, slinging a backpck over her shoulder, a lightsaber on her belt and a blaster in her holster. She began to walk into the deep woods to locate the Force-denying lizards to take with her to Ithor in a week...
Ithor
The air was hot...oppressive...like the mood that had been hanging onto him for the past month it seemed. Arie had yet to show, and they'd been waiting long enough. He didn't like it, but if he wanted to have everyone's attention, this had to be done now.
Myk-Ron Dinn rose from his knees in the cargo hold of his ship. For the first time since he was a padawan, the Rogue wore full Jedi garb. His undertunic and pants were charcoal grey, his boots were black as night. The cloak he wore over the ensemble was the deepest of blacks, and yet, in the folds, one could see tiny specs of light, like stars in the blanket of space. He carried no blaster. His lightsaber hung at his side, the only piece of technology on him. The grey and black had meaning...he only hoped others would understand.
Purposefully, he strode down the ramp of the Firebird and into the heat of Ithor. The planet cried in pain as it struggled to heal. The ground was black and cinders flew through the air. The place sucked the moisture out of everything that lived, and something inside Myk-Ron cried out at the thought of what this planet once was. He could hear the ghosts of the baphor trees singing a dirge on the wind. The Mother Jungle's spirit cradled the wounded planet and wept. Myk-Ron knew the Jedi were feeling the wound also...he was counting on it.
The air burned in his lungs, and he did not shunt the pain. He needed to feel what was done to this world. They all did.
He entered the mouth of the cave and the relatively cool air revitalized his aching lungs. Jedi went about the place, trying to make it liveable, trying to be comfortable, but mostly they were just trying to stay busy. The Council gathered at the back of the cave, conversing in hushed tones. The Jedi Myk had rescued, including the Council, did not know why he had brought them here. The arrival of Steffan, Ainar, Callista and Xan and Ter-Lon had eased some of their anxiety and annoyance, but not all of it.
"Your presence is requested," Myk called out above the drone of conversation. "All of you, please, follow me. Bring only yourselves and your lightsabers, no other form of technology. It is a short walk to where we are going, respirators will only insulate you from Ithor's pain. We need to feel that, all of us."
At first, nobody moved. The Council members turned to each other and began talking once more in hushed tones. The other Jedi in the cavern looked uncertain. A great sadness welled up inside the Rogue, and, not for the first time, he found himself questioning why he was here.
"Master Dinn speaks the truth," He heard Steffan's voice ring out above the background noise. The Cataani moved to stand at Myk's right and he threw the Rogue a wink. "I shall go with him."
"Thank you, friend," Myk whispered.
"What have you got up your unusually formal sleeve?"
"Something important," The Rogue answered. "It could be the difference between defeat and victory in this war."
"I will go as well!" Ainar called as he too joined Myk and Steffan at the mouth of the cavern. "I still think you're an egotistical, hot-shot, nerf-herder," Ainar whispered. "But even you can have a moment of insight now and again."
"I'm flattered," Myk-Ron whispered back. "I still think you're a pompous, straight-edged Jedi. So I guess we're even."
"I shall follow as well," Ter-Lon's voice rang out as the Knight joined the trio at the entrance to the cave. "As I believe we all should."
One by one the Jedi in the cavern gathered near the entrance to the cave, leaving behind their respirators and other gear. Eventually, everyone was gathered...including the whole of the Council.
"Thank you all," Myk solemnly said. "Follow me. Do not shunt the pain as we travel. It hurts...as Ithor hurts."
The trek was indeed, a short one, by Myk-Ron's standards. The Jedi struggled as they walked. Eyes watered and lungs burned, and the pain spread through the whole of the group like a ripple in a pond. But, soon, they were at their destination, and lungs and eyes and souls were given a respite from the pain.
In a small valley just beyond the ridge of a cliff there stood a small grove of young baphor trees. It was a sight to behold. In the midst of a barren, black, charred and lifeless landscape there stood an oasis of life. The living trees grew around a small pond in the center of the basin. As the Jedi breached the treeline they entered an Ithor that many had long since been thought dead. The pond was cool and calm and it reflected the stars overhead. The ground was soft and fertile and grass grew in the places between the trees.
Myk nodded to Steffan, who took the cue and set off around the pond in the opposite direction Myk began to walk. The Jedi followed suit and were soon in a complete circle around the water.
Myk waited a moment for everyone to get settled before speaking. "Can you feel it?" The Rogue asked. "Can you feel the heartbeat of this place? Ithor was destroyed in a day. The life of the Mother Jungle ended painfully and violently that day. You felt her pain as we walked to this place, but that was a mere taste of what she has gone through. She is healing, slowly, but she is. We stand amid the only living baphor trees on Ithor. They are young, but can you not feel their strength? From the ashes of a tragedy, life grows anew...and it is stronger for it."
Myk let those words ring out around the pond for a few moments as he drew on the Force.
"Sometimes, you have to suffer," Myk said. "Sometimes you have to endure. Sometimes, someone has to die, so that others may live. Pain, death, tragedy...these things that we try so hard to avoid are the things that make us stronger. This grove is a testament to that fact. Stretch out in the Force, you will find that this small patch of green on a 'dead' planet is more alive than any other world in this galaxy."
"There is a good chance that we will lose the coming war," Myk-Ron continued. "But it is one we must fight, none-the-less. And it is one only we can fight. The forces of the New Republic cannot be involved. This war is between the Jedi and the Sith, and to involve the innocent is a crime that I won't permit. This is a Force War. The Force is seeking balance once more. As such, only those attuned to the Force will fight in it. We are few in number, but we must meet the Sith regardless. This war is necessary. It is the Ithor of the Force. From this tragedy, new life will flourish, and it will be stronger for it."
Myk let out a calming breath before taking his lightsaber from his belt and holding it so the blade would be over the water when he ignited it.
"A long time ago, when the Jedi fought to defend this world, there was a ceremony held here on the jungle floor of Ithor," Myk said. "The ceremony was a ritual allowing the Jedi to set foot in the Mother Jungle. As part of that ritual, each person had to renounce something about themselves as a sign of humility...as a sign of recognition that they were only one part of a much greater whole. What's left of the Jungle has accepted us here today, but I feel this ceremony should be repeated regardless. All of us, myself included, need to remember that we are merely specs in the grander scheme of things. We are no more significant than the flitnats that buzz in the trees or the worms beneath the earth. By giving up a part of ourselves, we will become more in tune with the Force, and I believe we will be ready for the Force War that approaches."
"I will go first, but please, jump in whenever you feel compelled to do so. Take your time and feel it out," Myk-Ron instructed. "I renounce pride. It is one thing to say that I am insignificant. It is another to truly believe it. I feel that since I've returned, there have been times when I've allowed my pride to get the better of me and because of it I have lost something. No longer shall I let my vanity dictate my actions. We are, all of us, equal through the Force. Here, today, I acknowledge and accept that fact."
Myk-Ron Dinn ignited his silver blade and held it out over the water. "In the Force, I trust."
Steffan stepped forward so his fellow Jedi could see him. He stood there for a long moment, pondering his life before him as he looked into the pond and into the faces of those that he had led into battle, and would join with them again. He stayed there for some time longer before he finally broke the silence.
"For many years, I've led this great host. And for many years, we have been tested time and again," he said as he held out his lightsaber in front of him. "This is yet another and for many, will be our final test. And I am honored to be among you at this moment in time."
He paused and the silence was deafening as he made his vow. "I renounce responsibility. For a long time, I believed the safety of this galaxy was my burden because of the actions I have taken...to make these worlds more peaceful for my children. For my...for my grandchild to grow up in without having to face the things that we have. But, it isn't my responsibility alone. It is all of ours, and I freely share it with you now."
He pressed the button, and the blue silver blade came alive in a loud snap-hiss that echoed in the canyon as he whispered. "So say we all."
Others in the circle repeated his words and echos of "So say we all" could be heard.
"So say we all."
Ainar took a step closer to the pond, his lungs were burning but he didn't care, he felt Mother Jungle, and she was in pain. She fought to heal herself, she was strong..but not angry. She had been hurt, but she felt no hate...
Ainar looked at his reflection in the pond, saw the scar lining his face..the scar Bane gave him...
"I renounce my anger...at first it made me stronger, more powerful to deal with the death of my wife...but it only weakened me, drew me apart from my friends, my life...I know many of you are uncertain about me being here, after what I did, and you deserve to be cautious. But now, I fully give myself over to the Force...and renounce my anger." Ainar ignited his lightsaber and watched as the pond reflected green and blue, making it almost magical.
"In the Force, I trust."
One by one, around the pond, Jedi renounced bits of themselves and ignited their blades. As each Jedi let that little piece of themselves die, the group as a whole grew stronger. The Force swirled in the small grove and the water rippled before them. A veritable rainbow of colors shone reflected in the broken waves as Jedi held their blades above the pond.
When every Jedi had his or her blade in the air, Myk nodded and closed down his silver saber. "I want to thank you all," Myk-Ron called out above the hum of lightsabers. "We have felt Ithor's pain and we have found her strength. Now, we face our own tragedy."
"Where did you even get those robes?" Steffan asked from across the holo-table in the lounge aboard the Firebird.
Ainar sipped at some coffee and Ter-Lon sat at the comm station, setting up the feed for this council of war. To everyone's joy and surprise, Callista and Xan had arrived from their mission, having heard of the troubles in the galaxy…and, they'd brought friends.
The night before, they had dropped out of hyperspace above Ithor with an old Mon Cal Cruiser in their midst. The Mandalorians had heard of the Jedi's plight and wished them a fair fight. They gave the Jedi the Mon Cal cruiser before jetting back to wherever they'd been hiding. Myk was rather pleased with the present as the whole of the Jedi council could fit aboard her, and he could fly the Firebird without risking more lives than he had to. In the hangar of the Mon Cal Cruiser was another surprise, and Myk had almost felt giddy when he was told of the full squadron of XJ-3's in the old warship.
"I've had them since before you were born, pal," Myk grinned back, now wearing his familiar freighters vest, black pants and boots, white shirt, and blaster belt. "I figured they were more appropriate for what I wanted to accomplish the other night."
Steffan shrugged. "You looked almost respectable," The Catanni said.
Myk shivered. "Don't ever say that again," The Rogue whispered. "Something might explode."
Ainar and Steffan laughed and Myk threw both of them a scoundrel's smile as he took a seat across the table.
"Feed's established," Ter-Lon reported from the comm station. "We have a direct link to the cruiser."
"Good," Myk grinned. "Let's get this thing started, shall we?"
"Let's," Steffan agreed.
"Okay, folks," Myk began. "Before we get into the planning of this war, I'd just like to say one thing. That being that we shall not allow any non-Force-sensitive being to get involved. This is a Force War, and the blood of the innocent need not be spilled. If someone tries to get the New Republic involved, I, for one, will not fight. Is this something that we can agree on?"
A council member stepped forward and his image became more clear through the transmission. "We'd not have it any other way," He said with a smile, and for a moment Myk's heart soared.
"Great!" The Rogue replied. "Now, we've got a month, let's get organized."
