This chapter is longer than most of the others. That became apparent to me as I was editing it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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Kilrathi Dreadnought H'varkann
In orbit above Naboo
Privately, Thrakhath would have to admit that it did give him some pride whenever he looked out over the massive gathering of ships that made up the mighty armada of the Kilrathi Empire. Everywhere he looked, he could see the vessels with which his people would do war against their enemies. The Kamekh corvettes, Snakeir carriers, Fralthi cruisers, Ralatha destroyers, and the tiny forms of Dralthi, Salthi and Krant fighters and bombers flitting in between them.
Of course, nothing could possibly compare to the vessel that Thrakhath himself commanded. It was larger than all of the other classes; possibly larger than all of them put together, and maybe even bigger than the kind of vessels that the Alliance and the other hostile factions could throw at them. Vessels like the Imperial-class Star Destroyer or the Mon Calamair battle cruiser.
The dreadnought simply inspired the Kilrathi with promises of victory. It was long and had a four-pronged rear section, giving a plus-symbol-shaped profile when viewed from behind. It had a long middle section that connected it to the front, which was shaped like a gigantic four-pronged claw, giving the impression that it was reaching out to grasp something and crush it. A perfect analogy for the predatory nature of the Kilrathi race.
Unfortunately, the dreadnought was ridiculously expensive to make, and so they were very rare. Nobody knew exactly how many were in existence, but it was guaranteed to be a low number. It was mainly used for power projection, but that was just fine for an individual like Thrakhath. He was proud of his own personal dreadnought, which he named the H'varkann. If nothing else, it served as a reminder to everybody, both his enemies and his fellow Kilrathi, that he was the one in charge.
Baring his fangs, Thrakhath allowed himself a self-congratulatory moment. For all intents and purposes, everything was going rather smoothly. His grandfather had bestowed upon him the honour of overseeing the Sivar-Eshrad, and he had every intention of doing it right. In the past few days, ships from all of the clans across the Empire had appeared, ferrying people of importance and influence to Naboo. Once things were in order, the attack had begun.
The Kilrathi had swept down upon the planetary capital, which they had since discovered was called Theed, and started to lay siege to it. Thrakhath had been forced to admit the local Humans had done an admirable job of fending them off; their defences were quite formidable for a prey race. Dralthi fighters, Salthi light fighters and Krant bombers had been sent down to soften them up. Though that had gone against the nature of the Sivar-Eshrad, he knew there was plenty of victims left to do things properly. However, the locals had utilised their defences and even their own fighters, inflicting sizeable numbers of casualties on the invaders.
Then Thrakhath had decided that the capital was a little too heavily defended to attack head-on, so he ordered the Kilrathi to begin their assault on outlying areas. It had worked, and the surrounding towns and villages had fallen. Those who did not evacuate were slaughtered.
Thrakhath let out a huff of amusement. It seemed that when faced with inevitable defeat, there were those who were willing to offer themselves in surrender, hoping that they would receive a degree of amnesty from their victorious foes. Not in this case. No, the Sivar-Eshrad called for no survivors, and Thrakhath was only too willing to follow that rule.
Scanning over the reports on his screen, he noticed that, as much resistance as the local Humans were giving them, they were receiving much more from the planet's other inhabitants; the Gungans. From all impression he had been given, they really did seem rather foolish and clumsy, and yet, they had still managed to prove themselves to be a massive pain in the hindquarters, attempting to impede their efforts at every available opportunity. Regardless, many still fell victim to the vicious claws of the Kilrathi, and Thrakhath hoped that some would still be alive when he finally got down there.
After all, what was the point of hosting something like the Sivar-Eshrad if one could not enjoy it himself, right?
His thoughts were interrupted by one of his bridge crew. "My Lord, another vessel has just entered the system."
"An enemy?"
"Negative. It is one of ours; a Fralthi to be exact."
Thrakhath hummed. "A latecomer, it would seem. Very well, open communications with it."
The coms officer diligently carried out his task, and Thrakhath stepped forward to speak into the communication device. "To the Fralthi-class cruiser that has just entered the system. This is Thrakhath nar Kiranka of the dreadnought H'varkann. I am overseeing the ceremony being conducted on this planet. Care to explain why you are so late?"
The gravely voice of another Kilrathi came over the com. "This is Ralgha nar Hhallas, the commander of the Fralthi cruiser Ras Nik'hra. Forgive me, my Lord, we were otherwise occupied with other matters."
"What kind of matters?" Thrakhath asked.
"We had been scouting the systems surrounding Eriadu, and were on our way back when we were attack by Alliance forces. Do not worry, my Lord, none of them survived."
Thrakath paused for a few moments, taking in this information. He then gave his response. "Very well then, Lord Ralgha. You are allowed to proceed. And congratulations on successfully destroying the enemy."
"Thank you, my Lord." With that, the two Kilrathi cut transmission to each other.
Stepping back from the communicator, Thrakhath turned to a Thrak'hra standing behind him; one of his most trusted lieutenants. He gave a simple order. "Get me 'Fireclaw'."
Ralgha's voice crackled through Jaina's speakers. "It appears that the Prince has brought our little ruse. You are free to proceed, Knight Solo."
"Copy that, Ralgha," Jaina replied. To the rest of her squad, she issued the rest of her orders. "Okay team, I know we haven't exactly had too much time to practice with these things, but if all goes according to plan, we won't need to get into any fights. Are you ready?"
The rest of the squad signalled their readiness. Since coming on the Ras Nik'hra, Jaina and several other pilots had done their best to learn how to pilot Kilrathi fighters. The main reason given was so that they could pull off infiltration missions such as this one, but it was also felt that they would gain a better understanding of how the crafts themselves functioned. During the few spare moments that he had, Ralgha had schooled Jaina and the other seven volunteer pilots how the vehicles worked, making sure they understood it in great detail.
Ralgha also let them know that, more often than not, eight was the standard number of craft in a Kilrathi squadron, as eight was perhaps the most important number to them. They had three fingers and a thumb on each hand, making a grand total of eight, and thus their maths was a base eight, as opposed to a base ten for Humans and other species who usually had ten fingers.
Even the layout was different. Traditionally, opening the transparisteel canopy and climbing in from the top was how one accessed the cockpit. With the Dralthi fighters however, they were entered through a hatch in the bottom. Also, the seat was made of some kind of plant fibre that was woven into a mesh that was surprisingly strong. Apart from that, the controls were simple enough to understand. One drawback was that there was no ejection system. Apparently, the Kilrathi were so fanatical about not retreating or escaping when the going got tough, and actively sought death in combat, so the designers of the Dralthi obviously never bothered to install the system.
The new pilots were somewhat apprehensive of this little factor, to say the least.
Being led by Jaina, the makeshift Dralthi squadron was comprised of Zekk, Lensi, Lowbacca, Rigel, Dipper, Hammer and Vua Rapuung. With the flight groups of both of the Solo twins onboard, it was decided that the best course of action was to merge them together into one squadron. No name was given, but various suggestions were still being thrown around. Even though Lensi was still technically superior to Jaina, he accepted that she was a more acceptable commander for this particular mission.
Exiting from the hanger of the Ras Nik'hra, the group eased towards the gathering of Kilrathi vessels in position over Naboo. Jaina had been at the meeting when Ralgha had decided that it would be best if he kept his cruiser a certain distance away from the rest of the fleet. That way, if any situation were to develop where they would be required to escape, then they would not take as much damage from the other craft.
Every pilot in the volunteer squadron hoped that would not eventuate. Another major drawback with the Dralthi, which they actually shared with most of the Imperial TIE fighter classes, was that it did not possess a hyperdrive, and so it would need to land back on the capital ship in order to escape. It was unsure as to whether this was because of the Kilrathi race's 'no retreat, no surrender' attitude, or they simply did not have the ability to do so - though most would be willing to bet it was the former. It did not matter to them, except that it made a harrowing job even more harrowing.
"Okay squad, keep it tight," Jaina ordered. "Let's not give these guys any reason to look at us too closely. We just need to take a few pictures and then leave." A series of seven clicks was all the response needed. They moved closer to the enemy ships, the secret cameras that had been installed taking in information about them and storing them on a hard drive. Right now, it was too dangerous to transmit them directly back to the Ras Nik'hra; there was no way of them knowing if the Kilrathi would intercept them.
Most of the pilots had read about and studied various images and reports on the kinds of ships used by the feline invaders, but seeing them up close were another matter entirely. The enemy ships did not possess the kind of symmetry commonly seen on vessels used by the Galactic Alliance, the Imperial Remnant, the Chiss Ascendancy, the Hapes Consortium, or any other known faction. If nothing else, they were a lot like Yuuzhan Vong vessels; hardly anything lined up, there were protrusions here and there, the patchwork and colouring were not always even or consistent. It seemed kind of hodge-podge, to be perfectly honest.
But none of this made the Kilrathi vessels any less dangerous. Each one of them seemed to absolutely bristle with power, and all of them were pointed at the surface of Naboo. They seemed poised above it, ready to devour it and all life on its surface at the drop of a hat.
By far the largest and most impressive, not to mention terrifying, vessel was a large grey one whose front section was shaped like a large four-pronged claw; as if it was prepared to reach out and grasp the unfortunate planet and rip its life away.
"I'm betting that whoever is in charge, that's their command ship," Hammer remarked in the stereo voice that his species was known for. However, he kept his tone low, as if speaking any higher would alert the enemy to their true presence.
"Ralgha did mention that the person in charge, Thrakhath, had a vessel just like that," Jaina confirmed. "If he's not on the surface, he'd be on that ship."
"Thrakhath," murmured Lensi. "Isn't he the Emperor's son?"
"Grandson," Zekk answered. "But from what we've heard, he's probably the baddest of them all."
Dipper spoke up next, in his usual Talz warble. "Still, if the opportunity presents itself, this should probably be our prime target. We blow that ship up, kill the Prince, and in all likelihood, turn the war back in our favour."
"And if the Prince isn't on it, we still piss him off by trashing his ship," Hammer quipped.
"Guys, knock it off!" Jaina hissed. "Now is not the time to be making jokes. One slip up, and the Kilrathi will be all over us." The coms suddenly went quiet, and Jaina assumed that meant they all got her warning.
Continuing through their mission, the pilots were amazed, not to mention relieved, that nobody had bothered them at all. It seemed that they were all too busy with their own matters to notices a squadron of Dralthi fighters errantly making their way through the fleet. They continued to scan and log the number of corvettes, cruisers, carriers and destroyers.
Just when Jaina thought that they were about done, her blood started to go cold when she noticed another flight of Dralthis making their way directly towards her. "Heads up, guys," she said into the com. "We've got another squad heading towards us. Do not make any sudden moves." The way she delivered it left no room for dispute, though she still heard a nervous curse from Rigel.
The other squad, consisting of just four Dralthis, pulled up alongside hers. Over the speaker, Jaina heard some rough growls. Though she herself had not learned how to speak the Kilrathi tongue, she still had her abilities with the Force. Stretching out tentatively, she discerned that the Kilrathi was simply demanding an explanation as to what she was doing out here. Nothing more.
Though she had engaged the Kilrathi numerous times over the past year or so, and had thus gained a basic understanding of how their mindset worked, Jaina had never managed to touch the mind of one of them in this way before, and she was stunned at what she found.
In the past, whenever she had reached out with the Force during a space combat mission, Jaina had managed to feel what her enemy was feeling. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, this had been impossible, since that species existed completely outside the Force; a fact that she still found unsettling, even with Vua Rapuung on her squad. When dealing with their allies, the Peace Brigade, however, she had more success. They saw her as the enemy, and even though there were some that hated the Jedi, most were mainly concerned with survival. It was more or less the same when dealing with various pirate groups, mercenaries and so on.
With the Kilrathi, however, there was no shortage of emotion. They practically seethed with anger non-stop. They wanted nothing more than to conquer and burn worlds, and to gain honour in combat. They also had the incessant wish to find someone who could best them in combat and send them to meet Sivar firsthand. In fact, the only ones who did not display these were Ralgha and Kirha, and even then, they were still there in the background. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
Pushing back these thoughts, Jaina sent back feelings towards the Kilrathi pilot, giving him the impression that there was nothing to see here, that all was normal, and Jaina's group was doing nothing out of the ordinary. Since she could not speak the Kilrathi language, this was the only option available for her. Holding her breath, she felt her mental response seep into the Kilrathi's mind, and he started to accept the answer.
After what seemed like an eternity, the pilot gave a response akin to 'very well, carry on', then angled his craft away from them, his wingmen following him.
In the speakers, Jaina could hear audible sighs of relief from the rest of her squad. "That was way too close," remarked Lensi. A short growl from Lowbacca indicated that the Wookiee agreed with him.
"I think I may need a change of underwear," Rigel remarked.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Jaina spoke up. "We just need to fly by some other craft, then we can head for home." The others all voiced their confirmation, though their reluctance was all too evident. The brush with the other Dralthi flight had been far too close for comfort, and actually served to sap much of their confidence.
Looking ahead, the pilots all spotted a grouping of a couple more Kilrathi capital ships, seeming almost like a finish line, after which they would return to the safety of their own ship; the irony of it being another Kilrathi vessel was not lost on any of them.
Then something happened that none of them expected or had prepared for. A single Dralthi flew ahead of them, then performed what only be described as a burnout, spinning around 180 degrees, then gunning the engines and heading straight for Jaina's squadron. At the same instant, another flight of Dralthi fighters appeared from behind one of the Snakeir carriers, following the strangely talented leader.
A warning flashed through Jaina's mind, and a split second later, the lead Dralthi opened fire.
"Evasive manoeuvres," she screamed into her com channel, pitching her craft to starboard. Most of the others in her squad were quick to heed her advice and they managed to get out of dodge before it was too late.
Unfortunately, Rigel was not quick enough. Deadly laser bolts raked across his borrowed Dralthi, and the youth from Coruscant had only enough time to let out a brief cry of surprise and anguish before his craft exploded.
"Shit, we lost Rigel!" Lensi cursed loudly.
"There on to us," Jaina commanded. "Everyone make their way back to base!" She turned her craft towards the Ras Nik'hra and gunned its engines, the others doing the same. The hostile Dralthi followed.
Most of the enemy craft seemed to be piloted by Kilrathi whose skills were mediocre, but the leader of this particular squadron, the one who had done the impressive burnout and who had taken out Rigel, was obviously more talented. He knew how to handle his craft, and was a decent shot as well. During the chase, he fired off several bolts, at least half of which found targets. None of them proved to be fatal, but they were still enough to give the pilots worry.
"My shields are dropping," Vua reported.
"Mine too," called out Hammer.
"And mine," added Dipper.
Jaina cursed under her breath. She had already lost one pilot today, and she would not let another one die on her watch. Thinking as quickly as she could, she formulated a plan. Not the best one, but perhaps the only possible one at the moment. "Okay, listen up. Zekk and Lowie, you guys are on me. Remember the loop we tried at Bespin? We'll do it here. Everyone else, continue towards the Ras Nik'hra while we deal with the pursuers."
"Are you crazy?" cried Lensi. "I know you guys are Jedi, but do you really think you can tackle a problem like this?"
"Don't worry about us, we can handle it," Zekk told him firmly. Over the Force, Jaina sent him a brief thanks, but privately wondered if she was indeed overestimating their chances. She shook her head and focused on her task, allowing her consciousness to join with that oif Zekk and Lowbacca.
The three Jedi waited for a few seconds, and then made their move. At the same instant, Jaina and Zekk pulled upward, while Lowbacca went down. They all looped around and found themselves in a perfect position to open fire on the pursuing Dralthis, from above and below. Opening firing, they raked the enemy craft with laser blasts, scoring two kills each. Not only that, but the rest of the squad turned around to deal with the sudden attack, leaving the rest of Jaina's squadron free to return home unimpeded.
"(It looks like our plan worked,)" Lowbacca commented in his growling voive.
"Yeah, but now our asses are on the line!" Zekk remarked.
"Then let's deal with them and then go home," Jaina stated almost casually. The three Jedi brought their craft around and began looking for the others. There were only four hostiles left; a relatively even fight. In less than a minute, they had scored one kill each, leaving just one.
There was just one problem: this was the ace that had performed the burnout, and he was definitely talented. Jaina kept biting back curses as she did her best to get this one into her sights for that final killing shot. At the moment, he was lined up behind Zekk, and Jaina used his distraction to get him into her sights. Finally locked on, she felt her finger just start to squeeze the trigger…
"(Reinforcements!), Lowbacca suddenly growled.
Jaina spared a quick second to look at the screen, just in time to see more symbols indicating enemy fighters appear on it. Unfortunately, that was the moment when the Kilrathi chose to open fire on Zekk. The young Human managed to jerk out of the way before his Dralthi was destroyed, but not quickly enough to prevent getting damaged.
"I'm hit!" Zekk cried.
At once, Jaina snapped back to attention and opened fire on the Kilrathi. Unfortunately, he had decided that he had caused enough damage, and was angling his craft back towards the fleet. Jaina's shots missed and she swore violently at her enemy's retreating profile.
Despite the fact that every fibre of Jaina's being wanted her to chase after the Kilrathi and kill him, she knew that she could not abandon Zekk in this way. Heading after him, she noticed that his own fighter was taking him on a course that would lead him straight down to the surface of Naboo.
"Zekk, are you all right?" Jaina cried.
"I'm fine," Zekk managed to grunt, "but my controls are shot to hell. I've got no weapons, no shields, and my stick is not responding!"
"Just hang on, we'll get you out of here."
"(What about the reinforcements heading our way?)" Lowbacca suddenly growled. Jaina looked back at the screen. The enemy had launched another swarm of fighters at them; one that was much more sizeable than the group they had dealt with. It consisted of more Dralthi fighters, as well as Salthi light fighters and Krant bombers, and it numbered in the dozens. They had barely managed to survive this previous encounter, there was no way they would survive this one.
But, looking at and analysing the current situation, it seemed that there was no way they could bail out Zekk, either. The Dralthi did not have an ejection system. The only way they could save Zekk would be if they towed him back, and that would only slow them down and allow the enemy to catch up to them.
Jaina knew this, and she could only feel a sense of hopelessness.
Zekk also knew this, and it was his voice that snapped her out of it. "Listen, Jaina, you have to leave me here. I still have enough command of my ship to land on the surface. If I make it, then you can pick me up later."
"You want me to leave you on an enemy-occupied planet?" Jaina asked incredulously. "Zekk, you've heard what the Kilrathi are doing here! If they find you…"
"Then I'll stay out of sight," Zekk interrupted firmly. "I've faced off against worse than this. Besides, the locals could do with a hand from a Jedi. If nothing else, I can help them fight back. But if you get killed over me, then I will never forgive myself."
"But Zekk…"
"Jaina, please just go already! You want to help me out, then come back with a massive attack force and drive these bastards from the planet!" The firmness and finality in his voice finally prompted Jaina into action. Reaching out with the Force, she sent a feeling of calming reassurance to her best friend, promising him that they would be back soon. Zekk sent back a thank you, and then his mentality became that of hard focus as he struggled to get his craft under enough control for a decent landing.
Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Jaina addressed her Wookiee companion. "Come on, Lowie. There's nothing more we can do here. Let's get back on board the ship and jump out of here."
On board the bridge of the H'varkann, Thrakhath watched as the Ras Nik'hra jumped into hyperspace. Though he permitted himself a victorious grin, on the inside he felt sick. One of his own people had betrayed them. Had joined their enemies, this accursed Galactic Alliance. Ralgha nar Hhallas had turned his back on the glorious crusade, the neverending quest for glory and honour one sought in battle, and instead had joined the very vermin they had set out to dominate. It made his skin crawl.
Thrakhath pushed these thoughts from his head. Regardless of what Ralgha had done, he had scored some measure of retribution by destroying some of his craft. Of course, the number of loyal Kilrathi taken out would be higher, but as far as Thrakhath was concerned, that was a small price to pay. Turning on the screen, he addressed the pilot who had shot down two of the enemy craft.
Najji nar Ragitagha was commonly known by the callsign of 'Fireclaw'. He had a tendancy to burnout and suddenly come about in a spectacular 180-degree turn and engage enemy fighters head on. A bit of a rough individual and a show-off, but probably the sort of individual needed to lead their fighter squadrons.
"Your skills appear to be slipping, Fireclaw," Thrakhath admonished. "Of all those enemy fighters, you only managed to destroy two of them?"
"I assure you, my Lord," Fireclaw replied, "There were those in the squadron who were more talented than the rest. In fact, I am willing to believe that some were those elemental warriors we have heard so much about."
Thrakhath furrowed his brow. "You mean the Jedi?"
"Yes, my Lord, the Jedi. I also believe that one of my victims was a Jedi."
"Ah, now would that be the one whose kill you didn't confirm? The one who was sent flying down to the planet's surface with their tail aflame? For all we know, they could have survived the crash, and if they were a Jedi, then that could cause a lot of potential problems during our occupation of this world." His voice had a taunting air to it. He was baiting the pilot.
To Fireclaw's credit, he did not rise up. Instead, he responded in an even tone. "With all due respect, my Lord, if that pilot is still alive, then Jedi or not, we will deal with it in due course." He paused before continuing. "If I may speak freely sir, I am interested as to how you knew that Ralgha nar Hhallas had defected."
Thrakhath visibly turned his lip up. "I am second in line to the Throne of Kilrah," he replied simply. "There is hardly a thing that occurs in our great empire that does not go past the notice of myself, or my father and grandfather. I have been keeping an eye on Lord Ralgha for months now, and I suspected that he would eventually make his move in this manner." He settled his face back into a more neutral visage. "Regardless, you have performed admirably. At least now our brethren understand the price of betrayal."
On the screen, Fireclaw inclined his head slightly. "I live to serve the Empire, my Lord."
This was all the response that Thrakhath needed, and he promptly signed off.
Fralthi-class cruiser Ras Nik'hra
In hyperspace on vector away from Naboo
Jacen Solo sprinted towards the hanger, dodging fellow GA service personnel along the way, as well as to duck, dodge and jump over the occasional object that littered the hallway and the odd protrusion that would not have been there on most other class of ship. Seriously, he thought as he ran, somebody is going to have to teach these Kilrathi how to build their ships properly.
Entering the hanger, Jacen was just in time to spot the six remaining members of the infiltration group clamber down from their borrowed Drathis. The young man had to admit that it was quite disheartening to notice that two of them had not made it back alive. Even more so when he took into account that one of them was his good friend Zekk.
Looking around, Jacen was able to spot his twin sister exiting her craft and fumbling with the strap on her flight helmet. Her frustrated movements when performing this usually simple task, along with her aggrevated posture, and the radiating anger that Jacen easily caught through the twin bond they had shared since before they were born, told him that she was extremely pissed off at the moment. So much so that if anyone was to cross her the wrong way at this point, there was a strong possibility that she would try to murder them.
Jaina finally managed to get the helmet off her head, and took a few determined steps in her brother's direction. "Where is he?" she snapped, throwing her helmet to the ground angrily.
Jacen was taken aback for a second. "Where is who?" he asked tentatively.
Jaina's eyes blazed. "That damn cat who supposedly runs this bucket of bolts! Ralgha, or whatever the hell his name is!"
Jacen hesitated for a second, wondering what he should tell his twin sister. Initially, he contemplated trying to placate her, but he knew Jaina better than anyone else in the entire galaxy, and he knew what she could be like when she got in this kind of mood. Eventually, he simply replied, "On the bridge," and stepped back to allow her to storm past.
Following behind his fuming sister, Jacen could positively feel the anger simply radiating off her. Hoping that nothing bad would eventuate, he attempted to reason with her before they reached her destination. Jaina punched the controls for the lift and stood back while she waited impatiently for it to arrive, her arms crossed over her chest.
Jacen attemped to calm her down. "Jaina, we all knew before we started that your mission was dangerous. We knew that there was a good chance that the Kilrathi would have wised up to you and then come after you. It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself."
"I'm not," Jaina replied acidly, barely glancing at him. "I blame this Kilrathi that showed up, announcing that he wishes to defect. Hasn't experience taught us that we can't trust our enemies?" The lift had not arrived, so she angrily puched the call button for the lift again, apparently to no avail. "Argh! They can't even build a ship that works properly! Where the hell are the stairs?!" Walking away from the lift, she headed for the stairwell that would lead up to the bridge.
Jacen continued his attempt at talking some sense into her. "Jaina, that's just your anger talking. You were more than willing to trust the Yuuzhan Vong who defected over to our side. Hell, you've even got one of them in your squadron now!" Here, the twins had entered the dingy stairwell, and had started their ascent; Jaina still in the lead and fuming with anger, and Jacen still behind her, trying to get her to calm down. "You know what I think this is? I think you're just more pissed off than you usually are because you lost someone close to you! Someone you really care about."
Jacen's words finally struck home, and Jaina stopped on the stairs. A few seconds passed, then the young woman's head dropped down with a sigh. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, her head still looking downwards. Jacen knew this as one of her 'thinking' or 'contemplating' poses.
"You know something?" Jaina spoke up. "Unlike Rigel, I actually know for a fact that Zekk is alive. I know that he survived his crash on the planet, and that he will try to get back to us somehow. I mean, he lived on the streets of Coruscant before he became a Jedi." Jacen nodded in agreement. "And even then, before he joined our Academy, he was a Dark Jedi and then a bounty hunter. I know he can look after himself."
Jacen shrugged. "He's a tough guy," he commented casually.
Jaina nodded. "I know all this, and yet, that doesn't change the fact that I am so angry over the whole damn situation." Despite her fury, her words now sounded more resigned than anything else.
Jacen let off a sigh of his own and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Welcome to real life, sis. You know how it was like after we lost Anakin. Even though we won that war just a few months later, I still felt that nothing would ever be right again. That the protective bubble we had around us had finally popped, and all the bad stuff would just come rushing in. I felt responsible that I was unable to protect our brother, and I know you did as well."
Jaina spared her twin a glance. There was no denying that he had hit upon some hard truths there.
Jacen continued. "But eventually I realised that it was not my fault. It was nobody's fault. Anakin had made his choice, and the effects were that we were able to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong and bring about the end of the war much earlier than we originally thought. And I'm sure he would have been okay with that." He took his hand down and looked intently at Jaina. "Zekk did the same thing. If you had not left, then the both of you could have been captured or killed. But he told you to leave because he cared about you too much to let that happen. The only major difference is that we have a chance to rescue him, which we can do once we take back the planet."
"If we take back the planet," Jaina huffed.
"Now that's just being defeatist," Jacen said. "The Jaina Solo that I know is usually a bit more optimistic than that." Here Jaina rolled her eyes, but she also had the ghost of a smile on her face.
"All right," Jaina said, uncrossing her arms and holding her hands up in a surrnder gesture. "I won't get in Ralgha's face. Provided, of course, he has a good explanation."
"Well, that's good enough, I suppose," Jacen said brightly, putting an arm around his sister's shoulders and leading her up the stairs towards the bridge.
Her anger had mostly subsided but still continued to simmer as the two of them entered the bridge. Sensing this, Jacen wisely chose to take his arm from around her shoulder, and let her once again walk ahead of him.
Standing in the position of authority he usually occupied, Ralgha either seemed oblivious to the young woman's irritation, or simply chose to ignore it. "Jaina Solo, I trust you are still in good condition after that little incident," he said urbanely.
Jaina came to a stop in front of the Kilrathi noble, seeming to be absolutely dwarfed by his height, and yet not the slightest bit cowed or intimidated by it. "I am," she replied cordially, but still with an acidic edge to it, "as are most of my squadron." She put heavy emphasis on the 'most'.
Ralgha inclined his head. "I am truly sorry for your losses," he said sincerely. "I had suspected that Prince Thrakhath might have known about my intention to defect, and would have sent someone to deal with you. I only hope that you do not hold it against me."
His regret seemed quite sincere, so Jaina was forced to reach inside herself and ensure that she had managed to get the simmering remnants of her previous rage under control. When she spoke up again, it was in an even voice. "That someone that he sent was most likely an ace pilot. I don't suppose you know him?"
"I might," Ralgha answered. "I am familiar with a number of the more experienced Kilrathi pilots. Is there anything about this particular pilot that stood out? Any tactics he might have used?"
Jaina related her encounter with the hotshot pilot who had led the ambush on her squadron. How he had performed a 180-degree burnout in space before heading straight on at them, weapons blazing. Afterwards, Ralgha tilted his large head in deep thought.
"Hmm, that sounds an awful lot like Fireclaw."
"Fireclaw?"
"His real name is Najji nar Ragitagha. But he has achieved notoriety amongst the Kilrathi pilots for his tendency to do those tricks that you mentioned. A bit hotheaded, but talented nonetheless. I have never actually met him, but I of course know about him for one obvious reason."
"What reason is that?" Jacen asked, coming up to stand next to his sister.
"We are members of the same hrai, or clan, to put it in your language," Ralgha explained. "Kilrathi society is divided into eight different clans, each at varying levels of nobility. The current ruling family are from the Kiranka, so that makes them the noblest and most influential. The other seven are the Ragitagha, Qarg, Caxki, Ki'ra, Kurutak, Sutagi and Sikhag."
"So why isn't your clan one of them?" Jacen asked.
"The Hhallas are not one of the original Nobles Clans; merely an offshoot of one. Most of the clans very rarely mate outside their lines, so as to preserve their blood purity. The Ragitagha hrai is an exception to this, and this has resulted in them being one of the most widespread, and the root of several offshoot clans, including my own."
"So that's how you know about this Fireclaw guy; he's sort of family?" Jacen asked.
Ralgha shrugged in response. "In a very distant sense."
Jaina threw her hands up in frustration. "Well, family or no, this guy ambushed my squad. And now Rigel is dead and Zekk is missing in action. So whatever plan you guys have to take back Naboo, you had better do it fast, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heel and stormed off towards the bridge exit. Jacen and Ralgha simply stood and watched her go.
A few tenuous seconds after the young woman left, Ralgha turned to the young man that remained standing next to him. "I must confess," he said, "I still have trouble understanding people from other species. But what assurances does your sister have that the male who is missing is still alive?"
Jacen looked at the Kilrathi. "Numerous reasons," he answered. "Firstly, because if he had died, we would almost certainly have felt it in the Force."
Ralgha seemed surprised by this little tidbit of information. "Are you Jedi and the Force that you use truly that powerful?"
"Sometimes," Jacen admitted. "It also depends on how experienced we are. Also, we know Zekk very well; he's a longtime friend of ours. He's had it tougher than most people I know, and he still manages to come through, so I'd say his survival chances are pretty good."
Ralgha hummed as he processed this information. "This young Human, Zekk – your sister cares about him a great deal, doesn't she?"
"Yes, but good luck trying to get her to admit to such a thing. Sometimes she is a little too stubborn for her own good." With that, Jacen started to walk away.
Still curious, Ralgha called out his next query to the Jedi's retreating back. "Is that a Human trait, or a Jedi one?"
"More of a Jaina Solo one, actually," Jacen called back over his shoulder before disappearing through the doorway.
Once again by himself, the only thing that Ralgha nar Hhallas could think was, Clearly, I have a lot to learn about these people.
Well, Rigel is dead. But he's an OC, so no biggie, right?
And don't worry, Zekk's a tough guy. He'll be alright.
For the record, I thought the authors of the NJO-Legacy novels always seemed to give the guy a raw deal. Actually, they did that with all of the YJK characters, especially in LOTF.
If I ever meet Troy Denning in person, I am going to hound him so badly...