Chapter Ten
When Shimrra began his day, almost none of it seemed to make sense: first he was invited to Nom Anor's estate for business pertaining to the Elite. Then he was told by Onimi that he had sensed abnormal activity in that Force Power of his, including Vergere ending up comatose. He also told him of a vision he had of two women in black destroying him and attacking Shimrra himself. What is it about these women that has my Court Jester fleeing for his life? Shimrra asked silently.
"I would recommend not accepting Nom Anor's invitation even if it costs you a little respect amongst the Elite," Onimi stated. "And risk losing their resources?" Shimrra asked. "The Elite are fools, all of them, it'll be a matter of time before there is no further need for them and it's approaching. And rapidly approaching at that, if you must know," Onimi answered.
Smiling, Shimrra was comforted by that thought: soon his vision of an autocratic government for the Yuuzhan Vong would be complete. He would dub every last Intendant a Shamed One and take full responsibility for the governance of his people except for those who surrendered to his new power. Personally, he preferred Nom Anor lived long enough to grovel before his feet and be one of the people he spared for enslavement in his new government. But then, perhaps that would be decided when he went for his visit to the Intendant's homestead with the desire to secure his loyalty for all time.
"I am not phased in the slightest by mere visions and suspicions, I will accept Nom Anor's invitation even if you believe the man to be foolish," Shimrra stated after thinking about it. "Milord, I warn you one last time that it may be too dangerous for you!" Onimi exclaimed. "That's the problem there: you don't even know if it will be dangerous for me or not," Shimrra replied. "But sir!" Onimi began.
"I will hear no more on this matter: if there is anything meaning to attack me along my route to Nom Anor, I will find out for certain. There are times when I doubt your wisdom, you know, and times like that are times when I need to discern the facts for myself. Now be gone before I desire to find a new Court Jester and cast you back into the slums from whence you came!" Shimrra ordered. "Yes Master, as you wish," Onimi grumbled under his breath.
You got gall speaking to me like that after all I have done for you. You wouldn't have lasted a minute against Quoreal were it not for my powers enhancing your strength he thought. Sometimes, I wonder if you forget yourself and if so, why Shimrra asked himself, disappointedly. At that point, Onimi retreated to his headquarters and decided to meditate and see what he could discern.
It was his hope that by the time he had information to give to his puppet for certain, it wasn't too late to stop whatever these visions spoke of from coming true. If Shimrra perished, Onimi's aspirations for great political power would be revealed and he would be executed before he could fight. He didn't want to be separated from his pawn but in this instance, he had absolutely no choice. The independence that remained in Shimrra had fought back in this instance and won a small victory over him, after all.
"Quoreal, Shimrra should be beginning his march to my Palace shortly. If you wish to stop him before he reaches my place, you might want to position yourself soon," Nom stated. "Very well, then that is what we shall do," Quoreal said, gesturing for Arden Lyn and Depa. "You know what to do, right, apprentice?" Arden asked, a question answered by Depa nodding.
"The two of you shall head out first in order to secure that I can walk about safely to my position," Quoreal said. It wasn't a question, it was an order and they knew better than to defy him on this matter. Not because they couldn't kill him but because his allies had ways of making sure that they never got home. Scanning the area with the Talisman, which had become accustomed to seeking out Yuuzhan Vong at this point, Arden nodded as a signal that he was safe to proceed to the ambush point.
Breathing his first breath of fresh air since Shimrra had nearly killed him all those years ago, he hesitated but then continued, marching in demonstration of his dominance. We revived him and this is the thanks we get from him and Nom for our troubles? I ought to strangle the two of them, right now Depa thought but didn't say. Arden looked back and made sure that her face told her apprentice that she had heard that thought in her own head and didn't want her acting on it.
The last thing they needed was a dead Intendant and thousands of angry people running up and down the cities in a desperate attempt to destroy them. And when the Talisman glowed in acknowledgement of reading the thought, Arden was especially vigilant. Jumping onto the roofs of opposite buildings, they ran along the path to the ambush positions, being sure to be quick to get there. Time was of the essence and the sooner that they arrived, the sooner they could begin attacking the soldiers accompanying Shimrra before taking him on with the aid of Quoreal.
Arden created another sword out of the scabbard of her first blade so that she could use Jar'Kai and not be hindered by holding onto the scabbard itself. Depa, on the opposite side, also readied her lightsaber for use for the first time in the fifteen years that they had been frozen. Now, it was only a matter of time before the escort came through and they could work their magic on it. Patience Depa, you will have your chance to avenge your friend's destruction yet Arden thought silently.
Quoreal patiently waited at the ambush point that he had planned out beforehand, amphistaff tied around his arm with its neck in his hand. He also had two Nang huls, two Razor Bugs, two Snap Bugs, and a single Blast Bug ready for use against his enemy. As if that wasn't good enough, he had acquired a Plasma Eel, a Plaeryin Bol, and five Magma Pebbles that he would use on vehicles. The Intendant planned on adding more weapons to the arsenal, Firejelly for torture and a Fighting Claw for combat.
However, Quoreal was not sure he would have much use for the latter though he could think of several reasons why he would include the former. Firejelly and Plaeryin Bol were both good at what they did and would serve him well when torturing Shimrra, slowly and painfully. And as he thought about it, he looked to the bag on his belt which contained some Tokhlor Tallow. He wondered why Nom Anor would ask him to bring that along if it was going to stink but he had requested it nonetheless.
As if that wasn't strange enough, Nom Anor had also persuaded Quoreal to stick a tooth of Irksh poison in one of the gums where his real teeth had fallen. Truly, Nom Anor has gotten more and more bizarre since we last saw each other as allies amongst the Elite Quoreal thought to himself. While he could admit he would not voice this until he was ready to do so, he began to wonder if Nom knew something that he didn't. It was a worry that would continue to eat at him at least until he had finally achieved his revenge against Shimrra.
It wouldn't be long now before Arden Lyn and her apprentice would begin destroying members of the escort that the Supreme Overlord had handpicked before leaving. Once they had given him the signal that he could proceed, he would start by using the Tallow to catch his nemesis off-guard. Let's see if Shimrra is foolish enough to take the bait even without his precious Onimi Quoreal thought. The taste of revenge was getting sweeter and sweeter in his tongue until it became overwhelming he had to spit a little bit of the taste out of his mouth just to sustain himself in position.
Something was not right about the path that Shimrra had chosen to take to Nom Anor's residence. It was too quiet for his taste and when the environment was too quiet for him, he was trained to be especially alert at those points. Perhaps, Onimi was right about letting him go with Shimrra to this little appointment that Nom Anor had arranged with the Master of the Yuuzhan Vong himself. The last time something like this happened, Quoreal had been planning an ambush for me Shimrra observed.
That ambush had cost Shimrra his wife and had almost cost Shimrra his own existence. This was a mirror of that environment all those years ago and he had to admit he was becoming edgy. He wondered if this was something similar happening to him again since his "escort" was disappearing. It started with one man who was pulled by some invisible force into an alleyway, never to be seen again.
When he sent two men to go investigate, they were pulled in the opposite direction into yet another alleyway to never be seen again. What kind of sorcery is this? Shimrra demanded to himself angrily. Slowly but surely, the numbers were beginning to disappear and he readied himself to defend against the source of this power. Except there was one problem: not only could he pinpoint a source and attack it with a blast from his plasma eel but it stopped when all of his men were killed off.
Whoever is behind this is going to pay when I get my hands on them! I'll rip them apart, I'll skin the parts, and keep the bones for myself! he vowed silently. "Shimrra, I have been waiting for you!" a voice said from behind him. The Supreme Overlord paused, uncertain that he wasn't hearing things and slowly turned around, ready to whip out the eel at a moment's notice.
In villa above him, stood a man who looked vaguely familiar but those glowing orange eyes did nothing to help him pin a face. "I'm not sure I've made your acquaintance, just who are you and what do you want with me?" he asked. "Truly, I am surprised you could have forgotten me so easily after you betrayed me, left me for dead, and usurped my position as Supreme Overlord," the warrior answered. Shimrra wasn't sure he heard right: how could Quoreal have returned, alive and well, from the wounds that he had had inflicted on him during their final duel for supremacy of the Yuuzhan Vong?
What sorcery was it that allowed this man to return from the dead or was he ever dead? Then there was the third possibility: what if this man was just a sham, imitating his nemesis? "If you are Quoreal, how did I defeat you?" he asked, determined to find out the truth. "Ha, that's easy enough: you used your amphistaff to open my chest before you put your face into my heart.
"You then bit a chunk of it off and spat it back out before calling the duel done with since I wasn't supposed to have survived the wounds you inflicted. Nor did I think you would survive the wounds I inflicted upon you before I succumbed to the darkness of death," his enemy replied. "It is you, how was that possible?" Shimrra demanded. "You forget that I warned you that I have allies more than willing to help me in places you wouldn't expect," Quoreal replied.
He was damned right about that but even so, it's a miracle that he was healed so well. I bet he kept the eyes and facial scars to remind him of what he went through. That isn't unlike Quoreal to use some of his scars as reminders of his trials Shimrra observed mentally. "Maybe so but I defeated you before and I can defeat you again," he said aloud.
Quoreal chuckled and told him not to be so certain and proved it when two women came out of the shadows, one of them with a strange orange-glow on her blade. The other had two metal blades that were crescent shaped and both of them wielded them to the same effect as his amphistaff. So ferocious and merciless was the attack that it was almost overwhelming. Then Quoreal joined into the fray and it became all too much for him: he was instantly overwhelmed and rendered unconscious.
All it took was the destruction of the entire escort as well as the help of two black-robed women to put Shimrra's dynasty under its greatest stress to date. Revenge will be mine but it will be slow and painful before the end. Thank you Nom Anor, you have given me the tools to complete my return to power Quoreal thought as he carried Shimrra over his shoulders to a secluded shelter. The woman followed behind him like the ghosts they were becoming with each day they delved into their powers.
Onimi sensed the women from his vision again but this time, they worked to overwhelm Shimrra with the aid of another Yuuzhan Vong. A closer look showed a face that looked like Quoreal though scarred and with glowing orange eyes that glowed brighter whenever the warrior was angry. How is it possible for Quoreal to survive his injuries and become an active fighter again? he asked himself. It didn't make sense to him nor did he think he wanted to find out how it could have happened at this time or any future time.
Nonetheless, he knew one thing was certain: Shimrra was in danger and the women, combined with possibly Quoreal, were somehow involved in his peril. There was only one thing to do now that that was decided, find out who they were and why they had come and attacked the Supreme Overlord. He couldn't count on Warmaster Czulkang or Intendant Anor to help him, they looked down on him enough already. Nor could he count on any member of the Elite coming to back him up either so this was purely a mission of his own wits and cunning, fighting alone against an unknown enemy.
What could possibly be so special about these women and why in all of Yuuzhan'tar should they spark his interest? Was it because they carried the Force just like he did, were they wiser in its use than he was? This curiosity combined with the need to save his pawn that he could not turn down an opportunity to know the meaning of his visions. Giving his blessings to a swift recovery on Vergere's part, he marched out of the infirmary and began making his way to where he sensed these phantoms.
As he turned again and again through the winding streets, their presence grew stronger as he drew closer to where they were. Will these two have more experience than I can handle? Were they the ones who comatosed Vergere and left me to be on my own against them? It is a neat trick if that was their intent but not one that will work against me in the slightest he vowed.
He would save Shimrra even if it killed him to do so and he wasn't about to let a couple women stop him from doing that. But something about these women was still scary enough to throw him off and he didn't know why. Perhaps it was their likeliness to have more experience in using the Force than him, perhaps more than enough to kill him while he was away from the portal. The will of the Force would reveal itself to him when he finally faced them much as he hated surprises up ahead.
"Still as pathetic and weak as ever! And they've called you Supreme Overlord all these years!" Quoreal mocked. "You know, when I bit off a chunk of your heart, I should have bitten off the whole thing, instead," Shimrra faintly replied. Anger saw Quoreal send another dose of Bol poison at his enemy, agonizing him and causing him to scream upon first contact. "I will make sure you stay awake long enough to feel every single shred of pain I plan to inflict upon you.
"Your death will be indescribably excruciating, you will suffer as I have been forced to suffer all these years. I might even keep you on the brink of death, suspended in a tube and forced to live as a vegetable as I was forced to do because of you!" Quoreal vowed passionately. Where is Onimi when I need him? Shimrra asked himself. However, he was not about to panic because he was without his Court Jester, in fact, he still had a few tricks before he gave up on waiting for Onimi.
"All these years as a vegetable and when your mind is finally healed, this is the best you can do?" Shimrra asked, laughing at him. "Trust me you foolish little boy, I have just begun to even do my least, nevermind my best," Quoreal answered. His chuckle proved that he wasn't lying and Shimrra suddenly began to fear for his life as Quoreal probably intended. Oh boy, let's see what else does he have in mind: higher doses of poison for me to take in? Shimrra asked himself.
However, he would come to regret that mental comment as soon as he saw Quoreal pull a fighting dagger out but instead of attaching it to him, he stuck it into a bit of magma rock. Shimrra knew immediately that Quoreal was heating it until it was a white-hot bit of blade. With plans to place the sharper side on his skin, cauterizing wounds instantly and causing him tremendous pain.
As he looked around, he saw the women that had attacked him again and he had to admit he found it silly that he would use his facial expressions to demand help. One of them, the one who had had the orange blade that was now shut off, was the only one that made any gestures toward helping him. However, the one who had had the swords earlier stopped her and shook her head and as he observed by following the lips, he could tell she was saying that their job was done and they couldn't help him. Did he pay you for this or was there something else going on? Shimrra wondered as Quoreal placed the white-hot blade on his soft skin.
But even the distraction was not great enough to prevent him from crying out at the pain of the heat of the blade. "I will make sure you stay awake long enough to feel every single cut like all the other tortures, I promise," Quoreal vowed, laughing sadistically. But as he returned his gaze to the women, he saw the leader turnaround for some strange reason and unsheathe a little bit of her sword for battle. He wondered what it could be though he did hope that it was Onimi coming to his rescue, at last.
Nom Anor was deep in thought about what he had done, wondering if he should be regretting it right about now. Czulkang had already told him that he should never have blackmailed the sorceresses with Vergere if he had to blackmail, at all. "It will come back to haunt you Nom Anor, even if they don't kill you in the end," he added. "Just tell me when our city lands on Zonama Sekot and I promise I will get them on their way back to Admiral Thrawn," Nom replied.
"We'll be arriving in three days and we will be there for six weeks, you will return them to Thrawn as per the terms of the truce, yes?" Czulkang inquired. "Yes I will, they have done what I have wished and they will be rewarded according to their own silly desires," Nom explained, annoyedly. "I will have my son supervise their return and if you do anything foolish, he will slice off your head," Czulkang warned.
Nom rubbed his neck in fright of that possibility and made sure that Czulkang knew that he was going to do it. "And you will know that Tsavong will not hold back if he does have to kill you, yes?" Czulkang asked. Nom nodded and asked Czulkang why he was so protective of those women even if it would obey the terms of the truce. "Because I see the innocence in Arden as well as the kind, maternal love of Depa and I wish for them both to make it back.
"One cannot exist without the other and be happy. Actually, I think they are the best embodiments of human emotion that you can ever expect to get," Czulkang answered. "And why is that?" Nom inquired. Czulkang laughed and mocked Nom Anor's rational, scientific understanding of most other things before explaining.
But when he did, what he said astounded the Intendant more than he would have appreciated, having had to put emotion out of the equation. "In order to understand human emotion, you will need to first understand Yuuzhan Vong emotion, the way we feel. I think you will find, when you let your balls grow back, that there is good reason to feel emotion here and there. There is a place for your emotionless, rational point of view but it is almost seldom and far between," he said.
"And you would know this, because?" Nom demanded. "Because I have always been allowed the privilege to feel emotion and can tell you from experience," Czulkang replied.