Chapter Ten
By order of Admiral Kre'fey, all pilots and other military personnel were to submit to a full medical examination prior to leaving on any extended missions. Call it paranoia but it was just one more way for the Galactic Alliance to ensure no one being sent out to fight was in no way under the influence of the Yuuzhan Vong. It also served another more subtle purpose of ensuring all personnel were in peak mental and physical condition before risking their lives, or that of those they would be fighting alongside. For the former, there was no person more suited to scan for signs of Yuuzhan Vong activity than Danni Quee.
"I never realized it until a few days ago but Jedi do make the worst patients," Danni commented as she finished her routine examination of Zekk and moved on to Anakin. "Your brother falls into that group as well."
Anakin chuckled. "That's probably because he spent a large chunk of his childhood and early teenage years being treated for every known type of insect and animal bite in the galaxy. For someone as smart as him, you think he would have had better control of his pets."
"I'll make sure to bring that up the next time I see him," noted Danni.
"He's fine though, right?" Anakin asked her, a part of him still in disbelief that his older brother was no longer in any danger of falling victim to the Sickness.
"Yes, he's perfectly healthy. It looks like the Yuuzhan Vong actually did him a favor."
Zekk snorted. "Now that's hard to believe."
"Speaking of the Yuuzhan Vong," Danni started, "we've made a lot of scientific strides over the last little while. There's actually one item in particular I was hoping to get your help with, Anakin."
Anakin blinked, surprised. "Me?"
"Yes. Of all the Jedi you have shown the greatest potential for being able to vaguely sense them thanks to the lambent in your lightsaber. It's personally connected to you and acts like a conduit relaying that information to your Force senses. There's a serum we've developed that contains traces of harvested lambents. If it works they way I think it will it would greatly equally the playing field between Jedi and Yuuzhan Vong."
"So you want Anakin to be your guinea pig?" Zekk surmised, catching on.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. It passed all the lab trials but in order to ensure it actually works as intended we need a living test subject. My hope is since Anakin already has a personal attachment to a lambent that the serum will react positively with it and boost his ability to sense the Yuuzhan Vong."
"Are there any side effects?" Anakin asked the scientist.
"None that we've detected so far," Danni answered. "But again, we've only done lab trials."
Zekk groaned. "Anakin, I know that look. You're actually considering this."
Anakin made no comment, quietly pondering what Danni was asking him to do. Yes, the serum was completely untested on a living being but this could give Jedi the upper hand when fighting Vong. For so long they had been fighting at a disadvantage. How many Jedi might still be alive if they had been able to sense the Yuuzhan Vong?
"Since I'll be going with you to Hoth to help set up the science facility there, I can closely monitor Anakin's condition," Danni added, as if that would help sway his decision.
"If I don't do it someone else is just going to have to volunteer," Anakin said, as if that were the deciding factor for him. "Like Danni said, a lambent's already bonded with me so I'm probably the best candidate."
Zekk sighed. "You do realize Jaina's going to kill me for letting you do this."
"I won't tell her you were here."
"That doesn't make me feel any better about this, Anakin."
Zekk soon abandoned any other protests as they quickly become pointless. It was clear the youngest Solo had made his choice.
[*[*[*[*[*[
Experimentally, Tahiri moved her left arm. Definitely broken, she concluded taking a shaky breath. That was what happened when you took on a Yuuzhan Vong, easily more than double your size. It wasn't as though she had been left with any other choice. Together, she and Corran had exposed the fact that there were indeed Yuuzhan Vong operating covertly on Carratos. Their mission had strictly been to gather intel but in Tahiri's experience things rarely ever went as planned.
In exposing the underground Yuuzhan Vong operation, Tahiri and Corran's cover had been blown as Tahiri had insisted they rescue the beings that had been captured. They were destined to become slaves and as Jedi she felt it was their duty to stop that from happening. Hence the broken arm and other minor injuries she had sustained in the mini battle that had ensued. They had managed to save most of the captives and destroyed the small Yuuzhan Vong presence on Carratos thanks to the assistance of the planet's own military presence. All things considered, Tahiri felt it had been a pretty successful mission. She wasn't, however, delusional to think that the Yuuzhan Vong threat on Carratos was over. It would only be a matter of time before the invading aliens came in full force to cull the entire planet for worker slaves. In preparation for that, evacuation plans were already being put into effect by the planet's government. The Hapes Cluster was quickly becoming one of the major refugee points in the galaxy, as they had the resources to sustain the increased population, so it was likely Carratos' inhabitants would end up there.
"You'll need to get that arm looked at when we get back," said Corran as he entered a set of coordinates into the nav computer.
"I can take care of it."
"Please don't take this the wrong way, Tahiri, but I'm not sure I can trust you on that. I saw the kind of punishment you took down there and if anything it seemed to exhilarate you rather than slow you down."
Tahiri opened her mouth to object, then thought better of it and clamped it shut. There was no sense in lying to her teacher. He would just see right through it anyways.
"Should I be worried about you?"
"No. I'm fine."
He seemed to deliberate on whether to call her out on that. In the end he simply said, "from my vantage point, I've never seen you more dedicated to your training and development as a Jedi. However, I've also noticed you seem to have traded mental pain for the physical kind. It may seem like the easier way to cope with certain things, but it's dangerous – especially for someone like you."
"I know all that, Mater Horn."
"Good, but even though you know all that I will still be personally escorting you to the medical wing when we get back to the Ralroost."
"Yes, Master Horn."
[*[*[*[*[*[
Freezing. Desolate. These were the first words that came to mind as Jaina climbed out of her X-wing and into the harsh climate of Hoth. How was it that her squadron had drawn the unlucky sabacc hand to set up a scientific research post on a planet that was permanently covered in ice and snow?
"Hope you remembered to pack warm," said Ganner, projecting his voice to be heard over the howling wind.
"I hope I'm not here long enough to unpack anything," was her response.
They had landed just outside what had once been a secret base of the Rebel Alliance – that was until the Empire had tracked the rebels there and they had been forced to evacuate. Since the Yuuzhan Vong seemed to stay away from extremely cold planets for the most part, Hoth seemed like the perfect place to set up a research station.
The dangers of having the best and brightest scientists hanging out on the Ralroost – a ship that was constantly on the front lines – meant the Galactic Alliance could lose a lot more than just military personnel if the ship were to be seriously damaged or destroyed in combat. It was agreed that the science teams would be split into groups across the galaxy into what the Galactic Alliance referred to as safe zones. These safe zones were areas of space well off the path the Yuuzhan Vong had chosen on their route to the Core. It didn't mean they would remain safe forever but right now the Vong seemed to be focusing all of their efforts on Vong-forming Coruscant into their new home world.
"Tell the scientists to stay put until we have a look around," she told Ganner. Though both her Force senses and ship sensors had detected nothing out of the ordinary she didn't want to take any chances.
He nodded and jogged back to meet the science vessel that had just touched down.
Checking to make sure her lightsaber was secure on the utility belt of her flight suit, Jaina moved toward the large abandoned facility where the rest of her squadron had already assembled.
[*[*[*[*[*[
The generators that had powered the base on Hoth had either been destroyed by the Empire's attack or fallen into complete disrepair over the years. That meant no electricity or heat as the Jedi from Rogue Squadron completed their walk-through of the base.
"Is it just me or does it feel weird being here?" Jaina said to her brother. "I mean this is where Mom, Dad and Uncle Luke fought against the Empire over twenty years ago." She glanced over at Anakin when she received no response in return. She could see him squinting but from his expression didn't think it had anything to do with the lack of light. "Are you all right?"
"Fine. Just a bit of a headache."
"You're not about to pass out on me, are you?"
"This doesn't have anything to do with Tahiri," he snapped.
"Easy, little brother," said Jaina, taken aback by his short temper. "It was more of a joke than anything. Though you can't blame me for thinking that considering your history."
Anakin grunted but made no other reply.
For Jaina's part she kept on walking, deciding to keep the conversation to a minimum given her brother's mood.
After a bit her comm signaled and Zekk's voice came over it. "Find anything?"
"Just a whole bunch of nothing," was her flat response.
"Same here. We're almost through the lower level," Zekk continued. "One we're done we'll meet up with you in the hanger bay."
"All right. We'll see you soon."
Then there was silence once again, the only sound that could be heard were hers and Anakin's booted feet crunching against the snow. That was until a thunderous howl echoed loudly through the corridor.
"I really hope that's not what I think it is."She knew wampas were native to Hoth and considering how long the base had been abandoned it wasn't too much of a stretch to think the large predators to have taken up residence there.
"Only one way to find out."
Before Jaina could formulate a response, Anakin took off at a run toward the source of the noise.
"Sithspat, Anakin," she swore and ran after him.
[*[*[*[*[*[
Corran was true to his word. The moment they disembarked from their ship, he commed Master Skywalker to let him know they were back and would provide a full report once they paid a visit to the medical wing.
Tahiri felt very much like a child with a chaperone at her side to ensure she did what she was told. It was not a good feeling at all. At the same time she knew she hadn't really left Corran with any other choice. He was probably afraid she wouldn't get medical treatment for it and wear the injury like a badge of honor. So while she may have deserved his chaperoning, it didn't mean she had to like it.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said, her tone exasperated as the Jedi Master continued to stand close by while a nurse prepped a bacta wrap to put her arm in. "Shouldn't you go see Master Skywalker now?"
"It can wait," he said patiently.
Tahiri merely rolled her eyes, not caring that he saw her do it.
At that moment a squad of Galactic Alliance security troops walked into the medical center. Tahiri wasn't sure what they were doing there but she suddenly felt very uneasy by the way several of them had their hands hovering close to their holstered blasters. That uneasy feeling magnified as they marched over to her and Master Horn.
"Jedi Velia you're to come with us," the lead security officer spoke.
"What's this about?" Corran spoke before Tahiri could even open her mouth.
"She's wanted for questioning regarding the Yuuzhan Vong that were found on board."
Corran appeared incredulous. "You can't be serious."
"I'm just following orders, Master Horn," the officer responded.
"Whose orders?" Corran demanded to know.
"I'm not at liberty to share that information." Then the officer turned his attention to Tahiri. "Please come with us, Jedi Veila."
Mind whirling, Tahiri had no choice but to allow herself to be taken into custody.
[*[*[*[*[*[
Jaina came to a screeching halt at the end of a long corridor when she saw the two enormous creatures. Although she had never seen a wampa in person before, she had seen plenty of holos. The two towering ice creatures might have been wampas at one point but she would bet all the credits in the galaxy that the Yuuzhan Vong had genetically altered them, just as they had to creatures on so many other worlds. Jaina was actually having a hard time getting read on them through the Force – likely a result of their Vongformation.
They were much larger than an average wampa, and in addition to their standard curve horns and claws there was a razor sharp set of spikes protruding all the way down their spines. Their typical yellow eyes were instead blood red. These ice creatures, aggressive by nature, seemed to be fighting amongst themselves – and it was clearly a battle to the death.
That was, of course, until Anakin interfered.
While the wampa-like creatures were so focused on ripping limbs and slashing out with their deadly claws, they took no notice of the faster than light movements of a human Jedi who got behind one of them and used his lightsaber to slice through the ice creature's underbelly. The creature roared in pain as its insides began to leak out.
Jaina, anticipating what was going to happen next could only shout out a warning to Anakin before the injured creature struck. With its massive arm it swung wildly, making contact with Anakin and sending him flying through the air. To Jaina's immense relief, her younger brother somehow managed to land on his feet looking no worse for wear – save for three very large tears in the front of his snow parka.
Now that the Vongformed wampas were aware of Anakin's presence, they seemed to forget all about their own battle. Now, their attention was focused on killing the much smaller prey that had interrupted them. It would be a cold day on Hoth before Jaina let that happen – the irony of the expression not lost on her. Saber raised high, she charged at the thundering beasts who were hoping to make a meal out of her brother.
In the end, the two ice creatures didn't stand a chance against two Jedi. Though Jaina had to admit that Anakin did most of the work. While her Force powers seemed to be thrown off by her inability to properly sense the creature, it didn't seem to affect Anakin at all. If she hadn't been so incensed by the way he had recklessly charged at the ice creatures she would have been impressed. As it was he was lucky to walk away without any broken limbs – or worse.
"I doubt those two were the only ones around here," Anakin said, shutting down his lightsaber. "We should warn the others."
Jaina fixed him with a steely gaze. "What's gotten into you?"
Anakin appeared confused by her question. "What do you mean?"
"You charged at two gigantic, Vongformed creatures on your own. We should have worked out a plan for how to deal with them together."
Anakin scoffed. "Since when did you turn into Jacen?"
"Come off it, Anakin. It's not the end result I'm angry about but how you went about doing it. Seriously, what were you thinking or do you just have a death wish?"
Anakin muttered an incoherent response in return and the only thing that saved him from being reamed out by Jaina some more was when she noticed the crimson color seeping through his parka. The front of it was in ragged shreds from when the wampa clawed at him.
"Let's get you checked out before you bleed to death."
"I'm fine, Jaina."
"People who are fine don't bleed all over the place," she retorted. "Do I need to make it an order?" She added, when he continued to stand there. She had never pulled rank on him before but enough was enough.
Anakin turned and stalked back down the tunnel they had come from previously. Shaking her head, Jaina followed after him.