Chapter Eight
"This news is extremely disturbing," Cal Omas spoke after listening to Corran's explanation of the bacta situation in the Hapan refugee camps. "We've made some scientific breakthroughs recently that could finally change the course of the war in our favor. However, a bacta crisis puts all that in jeopardy."
"I agree," said Master Skywalker. "The last time there was a bacta shortage it caused significant panic. This would be on a scale much larger than that."
"We still don't know for sure if this was just a targeted attack on the Hapes Cluster," Jacen spoke. "They've taken in tens of thousands of refugees – more than any other world."
"I agree that may be a possibility," said Omas. "But we can't afford to make decisions on guesses and hunches with something like this. We need hard proof if the bacta supply has been comprised. We've already begun testing Galactic Alliance and Imperial Remnant stockpiles. So far everything's clean but we've only gone through about a quarter of it."
"The only way to know for sure is to go straight to the source," said Alema.
Omas nodded his head. "Investigating Thyferra is of paramount priority. The latest intel we have on the planet indicate the Yuuzhan Vong have yet to conquer the system likely because it wasn't on their path to the Core."
"How old is that intel?" Corran asked.
"Old. Since we lost Coruscant and much of the Core our intelligence networks there have dried up. Right now, I have a large portion of our forces committed to an assault on Bilbringi," Omas continued. "Unfortunately, even if we had the resources to spare it would be at least several days before they reached Thyferra."
"We're the closest," said Anakin. "We could check it out."
"This would be a recon mission only," said Luke, watching his youngest nephew carefully. "If Thyferra is under Yuuzhan Vong control, a handful of Jedi are not going to retake the planet."
"I agree with Master Skywalker," Omas said. "Go to Thyferra and report back. If it's as we fear, once we finish with Bilbringi that will be our next target."
"Be safe – all of you," Luke said to them. "That includes you, Corran. Ylesia could be just as dangerous."
"Ylesia?" Tahiri repeated looking at her teacher.
Corran turned away from the now darkened Holo screen to face the younger Jedi. "Before you four came in, we were discussing the Peace Brigade. They're more organized than ever now and with that grows their power. If we can weaken them, then by extension we would be weakening the Yuuzhan Vong as well."
"So what's the plan?" Anakin asked him.
"Just like you're going to check out Thyferra for Yuuzhan Vong, I'm going to see if the rumors surrounding Ylesia are true. More recent intelligence reports indicate that Hutt space has fallen and the Yuuzhan Vong have given it to the Peace Brigade as their command center."
Alema snorted. "How generous of them."
"If that's the case, it would do the Galactic Alliance good to know what kind of defenses they have set up. If the strike at Bilbringi goes as Omas and Pellaeon have planned, we're going to want to hit the Yuuzhan Vong with everything we've got as quickly as possible so not to give them a chance to regroup. Wiping out or at least greatly weakening Peace Brigade forces will also hurt them."
"Why are you going alone?" Tahiri asked, sounding slightly alarmed.
"I worked alone a lot when I was with CorSec. This won't be any different. It's simply an intel gathering mission. I'll be in and out as quickly as I can. I have a fairly good idea of what to expect at Ylesia. You four on the other hand, have no idea what you're walking into at Thyferra. Besides, in all the years I've known you and Anakin, things rarely go as planned – so safety in numbers."
Neither Tahiri nor Anakin could argue with the Jedi Master's logic then. How could they when there was plenty of evidence to indicate their tendency to be magnets for trouble? But whereas they could look out for each other the Jedi Master would have no one watching his back.
[*[*[*[*[*[
"Rouge Three checking in."
"Rogue Four checking in."
"Rogue Five checking in."
Jaina listened to Zekk's check in, glad they had made up prior to leaving for Bilbringi. She didn't want that kind of tension within her squadron. Tension led to distraction, which could lead to people dying. She wasn't exactly happy with him but there was no point in staying angry. He may have misled Jag at the time but considering their involvement now there was no sense holding it over his head. When it came down to it, whether Zekk had lied or not there was nothing she could do to fix the fact that Jag was keeping her at arm's length. She sighed and purged any thoughts of the two of them from her mind. Another distraction that she could not afford, especially when she had other threats in addition to the Vong to look out for.
The Bilbringi system was littered with asteroids. These asteroids were rich in metals and other natural resources utilized in starship construction. When the Yuuzhan Vong had seized the system, the then New Republic had lost one of its primary military production facilities. Kre'fey had decided Bilbringi would be the perfect place to stage their first attack against the Vong using Danni Quee's and Commander Glancy's YC-Neutralizer compound. It was close enough to the Core that it would help clear another valuable hyperspace route for the Galactic Alliance. More importantly if the YC-Neutralizer did its job it would effectively neutralize one of the Vong's main ship growing facilities.
Since the YC-Neutralizer had yet to be produced on a mass scale, Danni had come up with the idea to make a small modification to the existing TIE bombers. Each bomber now carried one canister of the substance within a modified proton bomb.
"Bombers, stick close to your escort and we'll be back home before you know it," Jaina instructed over the open comm.
Due to the TIE bombers bulky structure, which made it much slower and far less maneuverable than other TIE craft, a Galactic Alliance fighter had been assigned to protect it while it dropped its payload. The protection of the bombers was needed almost immediately. The fighter squadron's, including Jaina's, engaged the coralskippers flying toward them.
The one other thing that made Bilbringi an attractive target was the Yuuzhan Vong had yet to employ a yammosk in the system. It still made engaging the skips challenging with their dovin basals eating up much of the fighters' laser fire, but their movements were not as crisp and precise without a yammosk aiding their coordination.
Jaina's bomber was one of the last to drop its payload. She watched as it turned a field of coralskippers into space dust before jetting out of there, with her still covering its backside from a barrage of skip fire.
Their mission had been clear – once their targets were destroyed they were to get clear and let the bigger ships come in and handle the clean up. For once everything went according to plan. From the comm chatter there only seemed to be a handful of casualties between Galactic Alliance and Imperial forces. They had caught the Yuuzhan Vong off guard for a change and the YC-Neutralizer had done exactly what it was supposed to.
"Good job, everyone," she congratulated over the comm. "Keep a look out for your TIE partner as we rendezvous back with the Ralroost."
She barely had to reach out with the Force to feel the elation coming from each of the pilots.
[*[*[*[*[*[
It had been quite some time since Jaina had witnessed a large gathering where so many people in one place were happy. The decisive victory at Bilbringi had everyone in high spirits. Admiral Kre'fey, believing it was also very much a moral win as well, had commissioned a small celebration in the Ralroost's mess hall for everyone to relax and enjoy the moment he was coining as 'turning the tide of the war'. With the way the YC-Neutralizer had performed it was hard to disagree. There would still be many more battles to fight, and the cleanup on Bilbringi would be ongoing but it was a start.
While the Yuuzhan Vong had occupied Billbringi for only a short time, the initial attack had destroyed many of the shipyards, replacing them with their own shipwomb facilities. The recent assault by combined Galactic Alliance and Imperial forces – the first such joined endeavor – had taken out those facilities, leaving them as nothing more than space dust. A venture was already underway to begin cleanup of Brillbringi station so it could serve as a more permanent base of operations for the Galactic Alliance.
She joined a table occupied by Kyp and several members of his Dozen. She received a polite greeting from all of them and Kyp tipped his half full glass in her direction.
"Good work out there today, Apprentice," he said to her.
Jaina couldn't help but grin. With all the positivity surrounding the room it was hard not to get caught up in it. It was so different from the usual doom and gloom.
"It's pretty incredible how a single battle can change everyone's mindset."
Jaina agreed. "Once the news reaches the HoloNet it will give hope to a lot more people."
"So why are you sitting here with your dear old Jedi Master instead of celebrating with your squadron or maybe even those Imperials you helped train?"
Jaina suspected his comment was not as innocent as he made it appear. "I'm making my rounds."
At that moment Jag walked by. He nodded politely to her before moving on.
"Can I give you some advice?" Kyp said, having watched the exchange.
"I have a feeling even if I say no you're just going to give it to me anyway."
"I've noticed you and the Colonel aren't exactly on friendly terms," he started, acting as if she hadn't spoken. "I can only assume it's because he's not thrilled by seeing you and Zekk together. And yet I get the feeling Zekk may not be the one you want to be with. Feel free to stop me at any point if I'm wrong."
Jaina sighed. "Go on," she said deciding to humor him.
"Zekk is safe, familiar, comfortable. You've known each other since you were kids. But, those things don't necessarily mean a romantic relationship is the right thing. At least not until you sort out what your feelings for Jag are. Let me put it to you another way; are you with Zekk because that's what you want or because you're afraid of the unknown with Jag?"
Jaina sat there, unwilling to answer Kyp's question. She was fairly certain she knew the answer but it was more complicated than that.
"Jaina, whatever you decide someone's going to end up getting hurt," he added, as if reading her thoughts. "That's just how these things work."
"So far I haven't heard anything that sounds like advice."
"All right, here's my advice – life is short; don't have any regrets."
With those words, she caught Zekk's eye from across the room. Kyp's advice, although incredibly simplistic, resonated with her. She could fly death-defying maneuvers in battle, charge at Yuuzhan Vong head on without fear and yet the thought of trying to sort out her own love life terrified her. Maybe it was finally time to face those fears.
"I'll see you later," she said to Kyp, getting up from the table.
Taking a deep breath she walked across the room.
[*[*[*[*[*[
Luke Skywalker filled the empty seat his niece had just vacated. "I can't recall the last time I witnessed a celebration like this."
"It's not as if there's been much to celebrate these last few years," Kyp remarked. "It's the first real victory in a long time. People seem to think we might actually win this war now, but the morale of the troops isn't what you came over here to talk to me about, is it Master Skywalker?"
"No, it's not," Luke admitted. "I heard you've taken on Jaina as your apprentice."
This was a conversation Kyp had been expecting for some time now. He was a bit surprised it had taken the Grand Jedi Master this long to approach him. "And you don't approve."
"My niece is free to choose whomever she wishes to be her teacher," was Luke's carefully chosen response. "Kyp, you and I may have our differences on a great many things but I've never questioned the fact that you are a strong Jedi with much to offer. What I do want to make certain of is you have Jaina's best interests at heart. I've noticed you've taken an interest in her for some time now."
"If I wasn't serious about helping Jaina further develop her talents, I wouldn't have made the offer. Master Skywalker, you've sensed it as I have – she has this dark edge to her, just below the surface that has shown glimpses of its existence over the last year. Where other Masters may scold her for it or make her meditate on it, I can actually help her deal with it."
"There is no doubt Jaina has changed," Luke acknowledged, sounding sad. "Much of it is the product of growing up in the middle of a war. Jaina has been on the front lines since she was sixteen."
"It's been the same for her brothers but I feel like it's different for her. She's military after all. While the role of the Jedi has largely been a mix of passive and defensive strategies Jaina's been flying missions where she has to be the aggressor to stay alive and keep others alive who fly with her. Death can happen in an instant and she's seen firsthand some of the worst slaughters or lopsided battles we've been involved in. But no matter how bad it gets she goes back out there to do her job."
Whether it was by reading him through the Force or the words he had spoken, Kyp had a feeling Luke was more now to accept his role as his niece's mentor. It was confirmed with the next words spoken by the Grand Jedi Master.
"I'm trusting you to look out for her, Kyp."
"I may have let you down in other areas, Master Skywalker, but this won't be one of them," Kyp assured the older man.
[*[*[*[*[*[
"I haven't decided yet whether you wanting to speak to me alone is a good or bad thing," said Zekk as Jaina led him away from the celebrations to a more secluded area. "Scratch that. It's definitely a bad thing because you haven't said a word yet."
Jaina stared into the face of the man she had known since she was nine years old and still considered to be her closest friend in the galaxy. A lot had changed over the years but with everything they had been through together the very last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him.
"Jaina?"
She heard the slight pleading in his voice as if he already knew what she wanted to say. But unlike conversations they'd had in the past she had to be very clear about her feelings so there would be no room for misunderstanding or false hope.
"You and me, we have a lot of history – and you know how much I care about you – but I can't have a relationship with you." She watched his expression falter but quickly plunged on so she could say everything she needed to without interruption. "We've gone back and forth for months, alternating between being lovers and friends partially because I didn't want to get to close to anyone and partially because I was trying to figure out what you mean to me. Zekk, I love you but I'm not in love with you."
Zekk was very quiet – not at all the reaction Jaina had been expecting. When he eventually spoke there was no mistaken the hurt in his voice.
"So that's it then?"
"Zekk, this wasn't easy for me – "
"Save it, Jaina. I don't need to hear about how you agonized over choosing me or Jag."
"You're my best friend. I don't want to lose that."
"Yeah, well, I don't know if I can just put my feelings aside and be your friend. Like you said, there's a lot of history between us. Go be with Jag but don't expect things between us to be okay."
"Zekk – "
But he had obviously heard everything he was going to listen to as he started walking away. Jaina knew there was nothing she could say to get him to stay. She had hurt him deeply. All she could do was hope their friendship would be strong enough to survive that.
