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Thirty-Six
(Hold On For Your Life)
"Surprised Observation: There are many ships here, even more than I had expected."
In the command chair at the center of the captured Burned vessel's bridge, Jenn nodded in silent agreement, looking out at the second Star Forge's system. HK-47 was right; there were hundreds upon hundreds of warships gathered in formation here, along with patrolling cruisers, frigates, and squadrons of fighters. And this was just the third or fourth wave; on the way here, the Phoenix's long-range sensors had detected a number of fleets speeding toward the galaxy in staggered waves. Even if the defenders at the Belkadan system prevailed against the first fleet, another of equal size was only days behind it, and another behind it…
Before them, the huge bronze-colored Star Forge orbited above the system's sun in the midst of the formation like a bloated spider in its web, drawing a plume of fire up into itself which it converted to more and more weapons of war.
"Anakin, get ready to bolt if this doesn't work," Corran said from the pilot's console several meters in front of her. "But don't look like we're getting ready to bolt."
"Aye, Captain; flying casual," Anakin replied jokingly, though his own tension was plain.
"How about the Sith?" Ben asked. "Have they checked in yet?"
"Just got a text-only message on the line-of-sight," Corran confirmed. "Their cloak is stable, and they're holding position just below us. Our engine emissions should cover theirs all the way in." He looked back at her. "We're ready whenever you are, Jenn."
"All right," she said as calmly as she was able. "Quiet, please. This is going to take some concentration."
She paused to take a deep, cleansing breath, then closed her eyes and sank into the link.
The Force was abuzz with the multitudes of Burned Ones and clones aboard all those ships outside. There were no thoughts as such to sense, only general impressions of orders and confirmation of tasks completed. At the center of it all, she sensed the all-too-familiar presence of Pyrron himself. Jenn braced herself, concentrating, as she felt his mind stretch out inquiringly toward hers.
This was it; she'd spent almost the entire trip out here meditating and preparing for this moment, gambling against long odds that she'd successfully extrapolated the nature of the Burned Ones' link with one another and with their Burned Lord himself.
Wordlessly, Pyrron inquired of Jenn what she and her crew were doing, and she replied that they were survivors of the Battle of Lehon, returning to report on the battle and that she personally, as an 'Ember', was returning to take command of another battle group.
Pyrron accepted this apparently without recognizing her, and gave her the mental equivalent of a 'carry on' gesture, almost distractedly adding a request that she speak to him in person once she came aboard the station.
As soon as the Burned Lord broke contact, Jenn slumped back in her chair with a great sigh of relief, unable to even summon the strength to speak. Fortunately, Corran understood anyway, and continued on toward the Star Forge.
"So it worked?" Ben asked from the sensors/communications station. From his perch atop the console, Blue Max swiveled his red photoreceptor around to look at her.
"Yes," Jenn replied wearily. She paused for a moment, gathering herself, and straightened in her chair. "I was right; Pyrron doesn't directly control all of the individual cultists himself. It seems Master Skywalker's supposition that Embers are higher-ranking members of the cult was correct."
"So, to make sure I've got all this straight," Anakin said thoughtfully, "most of the cultists are basically drones, and are controlled by Embers, who have a little more free will. In turn, these Embers take their orders from Pyrron himself, who is able to take control of them the way they control their drones."
"Right," said Corran. "Only he usually leaves them to carry out his orders on their own instead of controlling them directly, since most of his concentration is devoted to controlling the Star Forge right now."
"Which is fortunate for us," said Ben, "because Jenn can pose as an Ember on a mission. But if he tries to take control of her directly…"
"It wouldn't work," Jenn finished. "He'd know something was up immediately. So we'd better hope I don't do anything suspicious enough to make him want to do that. While we're aboard the station, I'll be using my link to pose as an Ember, with you three as my drones. I'll just have to hope I don't get asked to take command of any more drones before we get the shield down, because I'm not sure if I can."
"We're basically counting on the sheer number of Burned in the system to keep anyone from looking at us too closely," said Corran. Even through the makeup, she could see his concerned frown. In that moment, he looked human again instead of one of the orange-eyed monsters they were all pretending to be.
"We can do this," Jenn said with more confidence than she felt. "All we have to do is get to the shield generators and destroy them."
"And hope we can get off the station before a thousand psychotic fire-wielding maniacs descend on us," Anakin said grimly. "And on top of that, hope we can get away from the station before a planet-smashing laser blows the whole place to smithereens." He smirked wryly. "No pressure."
"I can interface with the Star Forge's computer systems and keep them from closing our route," Blue Max put in. "At least, I hope I can. Maybe try and stay unnoticed anyway, all right? Those Rakatan computers are grumpy, and I'm not sure I can make them cooperate."
"This wouldn't be any fun if it was too easy," said Anakin.
"The Solo half of you is just perversely delighted about fighting such long odds, isn't it?" Corran asked his apprentice amusedly.
Anakin grinned. "And the Skywalker half wouldn't be?"
Corran nodded lightly in agreement. "Good point. Your entire family is crazy."
"Why, thank you," said Ben. "We're rather proud of that."
"All ships secure in their berths, sir," Ensign Thrien reported to Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was currently seated in the command chair in the Phoenix's control room.
Standing a few steps away from the chair, Jacen resisted the urge to pace anxiously around the expansive circular room. The primary control room, located approximately halfway up the Phoenix's command tower at its north pole, featured broad viewports around its circumference, interrupted only by curved bulkheads and large status displays.
"The masking field is operational?" Thrawn inquired, not looking up from the datapad he was perusing.
"Yes, sir," the ensign replied. "We've taken up a wide orbit, and, to sensors, should be indistinguishable from the rest of the outer-system objects. Disguised sensor buoys have been deployed throughout the system to monitor the enemy fleet and watch for the approach of any hostiles; we should go unnoticed until the shield comes down."
"We've been running drills every day," Jacen said to Thrawn. "I'm confident we can launch the fleet and have it in position within five minutes of our micro-jump into firing range."
"Continue to run drills and simulations," Thrawn replied. "See if we can get that down to three minutes." He glanced up at Jacen briefly. "Master Organa Solo's Battle Meditation can aid in that regard, I'm sure."
"I'm sure," Jacen replied a trifle uncomfortably, looking at the small reptilian ysalamir perched on its nutrient frame atop the back of Thrawn's command chair; he stood just outside the creature's sphere of effect, which forced him to stand slightly further away from Thrawn than was necessary.
"I do not require your mother's assistance," Thrawn said mildly, returning his gaze to his datapad. "I would prefer to be able to keep a clear head for this mission."
Jacen gave the ysalamir another wary glance, but did not pursue the point further. Instead, he straightened and said, "If there's nothing else, I need to go meet with my team."
Thrawn gestured without looking up from his datapad. "Dismissed."
No alarm was raised as Jenn's ship approached. The monolithic bronze Star Forge sat placidly above the sun, the wreckage of the Khadmous still sticking out of the hull near the north pole of the station like a dagger in its back. Nor was there any sign of unusual activity when they touched down in the docking bay.
No one could be seen on the external cameras outside, either, as Jenn and Corran paused in the entryway before lowering the ramp.
"Have the Sith checked in?" she asked him.
"Yeah," he replied. "Before we went comm-silent, they confirmed their charges are linked to our detonator frequency. They're holding position up by the station's main comm antennas, waiting for our signal."
"A ship without a cloaking device would have a hard time getting up there undetected," Jenn commented. "At least they're useful for something." She turned to HK-47. "You know what to do?"
The tall assassin droid swiveled his head to look at her. "Confirmation: I and my YVHK droids will wait until you and Master Horn distract the docking bay security personnel, then we will stealthily depart the vessel and proceed to our designated targets." He gestured briefly to the small blue computer module hanging from his shoulder by a carry-strap. "Max here will deal with any computer systems that may present a problem."
"I hope," Max added uncertainly.
"Make sure you stay out of sight," Corran cautioned. "One look at you and your friends, and they'll know you don't belong."
"Sarcastic Reply: How unfortunate that you did not think to bring robes large enough to fit us. The entire plan is ruined now," said HK. "Annoyed Addendum: I am perfectly capable of stealth when the situation calls for it, Master Horn; it is one of my primary functions, and I have installed similar programming in the YVHK droids. We will be ready when you give the signal."
Corran fixed the droid with a silent glare for a moment, but did not reply. Instead he turned to Jenn and said, "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she replied as she hit the ramp controls. "Let's do this."
Later, Anakin and Ben sat in chairs in what had once been the lounge in their commandeered Burned vessel, bored and anxious. Then, suddenly, they both simultaneously tensed, sat up straighter, and looked over at one another.
"You feel that?" Anakin asked his cousin.
"Something's happening," Ben concurred. "Do you think we've been found out?"
"Let's go check," Anakin said as he stood from his chair. Together, they hurried through the corridors to the boarding ramp.
The two young Jedi consulted the monitors for the external cameras, but saw no one outside. In fact, as far as Anakin had sensed, no one had come into the docking bay in the entire two hours they'd been here.
But still an odd tickling feeling nagged at the back of his mind. Something wasn't right here.
"I sense the Dark Side," said Ben. "Not just the underlying feeling tied into the station, either. Like it's being actively used."
"We're surrounded by a station full of homicidal maniacs who want to kill everyone in the galaxy," Anakin pointed out.
"And I know what they feel like in the Force," Ben countered. "This is something different."
"Doesn't look like the Vong came down here much," Corran murmured softly as he and Jenn swiftly made their way down one of the Star Forge's three lower pylons. "I'm not seeing any of their leftover tech in this section, destroyed or otherwise."
"When the station's functioning normally, there's really no reason to go into the lower pylons," Jenn replied. She made a face. "It makes for a welcome break from all the bodies the Burned just left lying around."
"Speaking of the Burned, Pyrron's going to wonder what's taking you so long to come up and report to him," Corran said, warily looking around the next corner.
"Which would be why I'm planting the charges around the plasma intake first," said Jenn. "In case he recognizes me and attacks, I want the charges already in place so you or the boys can set them off."
"Report: Mistress Jenn, this is HK-47," the assassin droid's voice said over her concealed headset just then. "We have encountered a problem: a large number of Burned are gathered at the entrances to the other two plasma intakes, and we cannot proceed inside without being detected. We dare not attempt to eliminate them, because I strongly suspect their telepathic link with the others would alert them to our actions before even I could kill them all."
"Well, that's not good," Corran said sourly.
"Did you get the charges planted on the plasma regulators on your way down?" Jenn asked.
"Confirmation: We did. They can be detonated at your command."
Jenn paused in the corner of one of the switchbacks leading down the pylon to the next turbolift. "The shield generators are at the base of all three pylons near the plasma intakes," she mused aloud. "Disabling the plasma intakes will take out the generators at the same time. I'm not sure if we can do that just by disrupting the plasma regulators along the pylons."
"If the droids burst in there shooting, the Burned are going to know we're here," Corran warned. "The first thing Pyrron will do will be to shut down the turbolifts in the lower pylons, and that's a little more of a hike than I wanted to make today, especially with ten thousand Burned Ones between us and the ship."
"And I'd rather not see if Max can override that lockdown until we're a lot closer to the ship," Jenn agreed. She frowned. "If we just detonate the charges on the plasma regulators, the station will start drawing too much plasma for its systems to handle and rip itself apart. Problem is, I don't think we could get back to the docking bay before that happens. I was rather hoping to detonate the charges on the way out of the station."
"No plan survives contact with the enemy," Corran grumbled. "HK, does it look like they're waiting for you, or are they gathered there for some other reason?"
"Report: It does not seem as if they have anticipated our arrival. There are no cultists on patrol, just approximately a dozen each gathered near the entrances to both plasma intake complexes. Puzzled Addendum: They are just… standing there, not doing anything."
Jenn heard the whine of a powered door opening, and she straightened, dropping her face into the neutral expression worn by most Burned. Beside her, Corran did the same. Quickly, she transmitted a double-click through her comlink, indicating she was going silent.
A moment later, a dozen gray-robed figures filed down the switchbacks above them, and their leader, presumably human beneath the scars and tattoos, paused as he saw Jenn, his glowing orange eyes gazing into hers.
Wordlessly, the Burned One telepathically inquired whether Jenn and her 'spark' had also been dispatched to guard the plasma intake against the intruders.
She immediately replied that they had, though privately she wondered what was going on; clearly the Burned knew intruders were aboard the station, but they also clearly did not know about Jenn and her team, since none of these cultists showed the slightest signs of suspicion as they regarded her and Corran. Who, then, were they guarding against?
The group of Burned moved past them unconcernedly, and Jenn and Corran fell in at the back of the group. They exchanged a wary glance, both unsure of what was going on. For the time being, Jenn considered this to be a blessing in disguise; under the pretext of helping to secure the intake complex against the intruders, she and Corran could still get in to plant their charges.
Getting out, however, would be a completely different challenge.
"That was weird," said Anakin.
"What was?" Ben asked, crossing to where his cousin stood looking at the screen for the exterior cameras.
"A group of Burned wandered into the docking bay for a minute and looked around, then left," Anakin replied.
Ben frowned thoughtfully. "Do they know we're here?"
"Still no, I think," said Anakin. "It seems like they're looking for something- Wait a second."
"What?" Ben inquired, moving to look for himself.
Anakin pointed to the screen. "What's he doing in here? They're not supposed to be aboard the station yet."
A moment later, Ben saw it: a black-cloaked, stealthily moving figure headed right towards them through the dimly lit docking bay.
Four black-cloaked and hooded figures slipped silently through the shadows in the Star Forge's command level. Little could be seen beneath their hoods except for the twin glowing yellow points of their eyes, but their shoulders and torsos were oddly bulky, with strange angles sticking out in places where none of them had limbs or joints.
As they passed into a large chamber, equivalent to what had been the war room on the other, destroyed Star Forge, one of the Sith briefly paused for a dispassionate glance at the remains of what had once occupied the room's central holoprojector; on this station, instead of a situational hologram, a dense web of coral and organic connections surrounding a vaguely humanoid figure had once occupied the projector well before being set on fire and the remains left to lie where they fell.
The four Sith moved swiftly through the passage to the viewing platform, which was also strewn with blackened, contorted Yuuzhan Vong bodies. They paid the corpses no mind, except to kick them out of the way.
One of the long-broken droid-assembly machines in the passage suddenly sprayed a stream of sparks just as the last Sith in the line passed it, apparently by coincidence. She paused and gave the machine a suspicious glance as she swiped the sparks off of her cloak, but there was no further activity, so she continued on after her comrades.
Upon reaching the master control room, they found that the chamber was currently extended above the outer hull, the huge viewports above the viewing platform displaying the open black expanse of space. Outside, the gathered fleet of flame-painted warships could be seen, waiting patiently for their fellows still under construction in the factory to join them.
"Not even a single guard," one of the Sith sneered.
"Set the ysalamiri on either side of the master control console," the leader of the four ordered, reaching up to undo the clasp of his cloak. "And remember to stay within their sphere of effect."
The other three removed their cloaks as well, revealing ysalamiri on portable nutrient frames strapped to their chests over their studded leather uniforms. Working quickly, the Sith - all four of them humanoids of indeterminate species beneath their red and black tattoos - affixed two of the nutrient frames to the railing and placed the other two on the floor next to the broad viewports, creating a Force-empty bubble in a rough square around the master control console.
The leader idly rubbed a gloved fingertip along the side of his shaved-bald head above his ear, pacing impatiently. "What sort of security does the console have?"
"None," said the Sith standing at the console, a woman with long black hair pulled into a tight braid at the nape of her neck. "Not even a password."
"Fools," scoffed another, a man with angular patterns shaved into his hair.
The fourth, a large man whose black hair was slicked straight back, said nothing, merely maintaining position next to one of the ysalamiri, his eyes locked on the door.
"Find the lockdown protocol which seals off this section," said the leader. "Once that's done, disable the communications and external sensors."
None of the Burned seemed to notice as Jenn slipped inside the intake complex to plant the charges. Corran stood near the door where he could keep an eye on the group and let her know if anyone got curious.
The plasma intake complex was, like so many other rooms on the Star Forge, huge; nearly a kilometer in diameter by Jenn's estimation. Much of that space was taken up by the stream of plasma being drawn up into the station, surrounded by a polarized force field which protected the rest of the complex from the intense heat and light of the star-matter. However, the complex was still uncomfortably hot, and the plasma itself provided the only source of illumination aside from dim lighting strips which outlined the catwalks and monitoring stations scattered around the enormous circular chamber. A low, reverberating thrum pulsed through the chamber in regular intervals, a deep bass noise Jenn felt more through vibrations in the metal floor than actually heard. It was enough to give her a headache, but fortunately, she wouldn't be here long.
According to Revan, the best way to disrupt the intakes was to plant charges on the walls of the complex, so that when they exploded, they would open the three huge chambers at the very bottom of the station to space. At best, the station's automated systems would detect the hull breach and immediately cease drawing plasma from the sun. If the explosion also destroyed the shield generators, so much the better. If not, the shield was such a huge energy drain that the reactor would run out of power quickly anyway, especially if hit with a Death Star blast.
At worst, the opposite would happen, and the station's plasma intake would go out of control and rip it apart. Either way, being aboard the station when the charges went off, especially anywhere in the three lower pylons, would not be a good idea.
Jenn paused in the middle of one of the catwalks, as if looking around the gigantic circular complex, and very carefully stretched out into the Force. The lower hem of her robe shifted subtly, and an explosive charge floated out and quickly disappeared under the catwalk
Above her, Corran also very carefully stretched out into their link with the Burned, running interference so that they didn't sense what she was doing. Ideally, their positions would be reversed, since Jenn had better control over the link, but unfortunately, Corran had no telekinetic ability and therefore couldn't plant the charges; one of the trade-offs for his special energy absorption ability, as she understood it. But, that was why they'd gone in as a team.
Jenn moved as casually as she was able around the complex for the next several minutes, occasionally pausing to telekinetically remove charges from the numerous pockets of the fatigues she wore beneath her robe and plant them along the outer walls.
Better hurry up, Corran sent to her through the Force. I'm starting to get some funny looks up here.
Almost done, Jenn sent back. Just three more charges.
That's odd, he sent a moment later. Four Sith just walked out of the turbolift. What are they doing down here?
Unasked-for reinforcements, maybe? Jenn replied.
Suddenly she felt him tense. No, I don't think so.
"Curious," a deep, raspy voice rang out across the master control room.
All four of the Sith gathered around the console tensed, their hands going to their lightsabers.
A tall, broad-shouldered figure in a gray robe stepped into view from a shadowed alcove along the far wall near the entrance. He reached up to lower his hood, revealing a bald, heavily scarred head tattooed in patterns of swirling flame.
"I can see you with my own eyes, yet I cannot feel you," said the man, as he walked closer. "Are you real?"
The leader of the Sith ignited his scarlet lightsaber. "Real… and deadly," he said boastfully. "More than powerful enough to destroy a single weakling cultist like you."
"I sense no power within you," said the Burned Lord. Experimentally, he raised a hand and sent a blast of fire out at the four of them, but it halted at the edge of the ysalamiri's sphere of effect, as if washing over an invisible barrier.
The Sith with the pattern-shaved hair smirked. "Your powers have no effect on us."
"An appropriately cowardly defense," said the Burned Lord. "I thought you Sith prided yourselves on your strength. Are you so weak you must hide behind trickery?"
"I will show you strength!" the man shouted back, and he vaulted over the railing, lightsaber blazing in one hand.
Now the Burned Lord smirked. "Far too easy," he said disdainfully, raising one hand.
The other three Sith shouted warnings to their comrade, but it was already too late. The man raised his own hand, but lightning had barely begun to crackle between his fingers before points of orange light began to glow from his ears, from his nostrils, from inside his collar and the cuffs of his sleeves.
Jenn heard the sound of multiple lightsabers igniting echo across the plasma intake complex.
Three things happened very quickly:
One Sith attacked the Burned, and the link rippled in alarm as the rest of the cultists sensed what was happening.
Another Sith attacked Corran, and he reflexively dropped out of the link to shift into combat readiness.
Jenn tried to disguise this herself, but her concentration was stretched too thin, and Pyrron's attention was drawn to her like a searchlight to sudden movement in the night.
She paused only long enough to mutter, "Oh, frell!" and then she sprang into action.
No longer bothering to disguise what she was doing, Jenn snatched the remaining charges from her pockets and quickly hurled them out into their positions, frantically settling them in place and priming them. Even as she did so, three black-cloaked figures leaped into the room in long Force-enhanced arcs, lightsabers blazing.
Up above, the Burned had turned their roiling fury upon both Corran and the remaining Sith. The Jedi Master was absorbing their power and sending it right back at them, which kept them at bay for now.
As the three Sith ran towards her, Jenn quickly slipped out of the confining gray cassock and held it by the collar in one hand, drawing her lightsaber with the other. Around her, a deep, whining hum echoed through the walls as the shield started to go up.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted across the complex at the Sith. "You just wrecked our whole battle plan!"
"That's because we don't want to destroy the station," said one of the Sith, the obnoxious Zeltron whose name Jenn had never bothered to learn. "We're claiming it for ourselves, as is our right as masters of the Dark Side!"
Jenn sensed Pyrron's attention being drawn away from her; evidently more Sith were even now attacking him wherever he was. That wasn't going to last long, though.
"I've been waiting a long time for this, Jedi," the Zeltron woman said with a fierce grin as she slowly stalked along the catwalk toward Jenn. "Now you will see what a real warrior can do!"
She charged forward and leaped at Jenn, blade held high, but the Jedi Master didn't even move; she just altered the Zeltron's arc with a brief telekinetic shove. As she missed the edge of the catwalk, the Zeltron only had time for a startled shout before the plasma intake at the center of the room sucked her in through the force field and she disappeared in a bright flash of fire.
"Either of you want to waste more time with pointless arrogant boasting, or shall we do this?" Jenn wearily inquired of the other two Sith.
The two remaining Sith paused, looked at one another for a moment, then turned and ran the other way.
"That's the smartest thing you've done all day," Jenn muttered angrily, letting her lightsaber go out.
As she clipped her lightsaber to her belt, she thought about what to do now that their cover was thoroughly blown. She decided to go ahead and drop out of the link, since Pyrron knew where she was now and there was nothing she could do about it. There was no way she'd be able to fool him a second time, not even while he was distracted with the Sith.
Using one sleeve of her robe, Jenn began to wipe the makeup off of her face. "Why couldn't these idiots have just stayed hidden?" she grumbled to herself as she walked up the catwalks to help Corran.
"Aw, they must have snuck into another docking bay or something!" Anakin exclaimed irritably, drawing his lightsaber from his sleeve. "They followed us in, and now they're trying to take over the Star Forge before we can wreck it too much to be repaired."
"What a stupid thing to do," Ben muttered in equal irritation. "What an incredibly stupid, selfish, short-sighted, idiotic thing to do! They just blew our whole plan for no reason."
"Palpatine seems to have been the last Sith Lord who understood the concept of subtlety," Anakin said as he watched the lone Sith fight against a crowd of gray-robed cultists who charged into the hangar. "These new ones clearly don't follow his philosophy."
Ben scoffed. "If they were smart, they wouldn't be Sith. So what are we going to do?"
"Pyrron knows Jenn and Corran are down at the base of Pylon One," Anakin said, voicing what he sensed. "Maybe we can take the ship down there, cut our way in with our lightsabers, and rescue them-" He stopped as his danger sense flared suddenly, and he slapped the ramp controls, opening the hatch. "Out, out!"
Ben needed no urging, as he had also sensed it. The two of them raced down the ramp and across the hangar bay, just barely in time to get clear of the blast wave as point-defense turrets swiveled down out of the ceiling and opened fire on their ship.
Moving with Force-enhanced speed, the boys sprinted out of the hangar past the crowd of Burned trying to get in to fight the Sith. They cleared the heavy bay door with only a meter to spare as it slammed closed and their ship exploded inside.
"I think it's pretty safe to say Pyrron knows where we are, too!" Ben growled in frustration as they ran down the corridor away from the cultists pursuing them. "Karking Sith!"
"How come the docking bays on our Star Forge didn't have those defense turrets?" Anakin complained as they rounded a corner. "That's just not fair!"
"That's all of them!" Corran called down to Jenn as he appeared at the railing of the overlook platform near the entrance of the intake complex. "Now what?"
"Now we see how far up this pylon we can get before a hundred thousand Burned charge down it at us," she called back, unable to keep the disgust out of her voice. "It's my own fault. This is what I get for trusting a Sith." She raised a hand to her headset. "Our cover's blown, HK."
"Sarcastic Reply: Oh, is that why all the alarms are going off and the shield has gone up? I never would have guessed," the assassin droid said grumpily. She could hear blaster-fire over the line. "Expectant Query: Time for Plan Beta, I assume?"
Despite the situation, Jenn couldn't help but smirk in grim amusement. "Right, shoot everything in sight and run away."
"Amused Reply: Somehow it does not surprise me that you have adopted Atton Rand's favored strategy. We will plant our charges and meet you back at the ship as quickly as we are able. HK-47 out."
"Bad news, Jenn!" Anakin's voice broke in almost immediately. "Our ship is gone. A Sith came into the hangar and the Burned came in after him!"
"Probably deliberately giving away our position so Pyrron will focus on us," Corran guessed. "Good thing we're in a starship factory; we can just take another one."
"We're nowhere near the factory," Jenn said as she jogged up another ramp. "But the boys are."
"Right," said Ben. "We'll find a ship that'll hold all of us. We'll call back when we do."
Before she could even tell them to be careful, they cut the transmission.
"What are those?" Jenn asked, gesturing to four scorched, melted backpack-like objects scattered on the platform in front of the door.
"Ysalamiri nutrient frames," Corran replied as she approached. "The Sith must have been using them to sneak around the station." He looked over at Jenn. "Hey, why didn't we think of that? It would have been a lot easier than trying to use the link."
Jenn raised her brows slightly. "Would you have thought of deliberately using one of those on yourself?"
Corran hesitated, looking down at the dead, charred creatures with disgust. "Well… no," he admitted. "I try to avoid these things if I can."
Jenn nudged one of the frames aside with the toe of her boot. "Well, there you go, then."
Corran continued wiping the makeup off his face, but was only partially successful, leaving smears of red and orange coloring streaked across his cheeks and forehead. "I have a really crazy idea for how to get up the pylon without running into the Burned," he said.
"Crazy ideas are about all we have left at this point," Jenn replied, scrubbing at her face with her gray robe to remove the last traces of her own makeup.
Just then the door to the complex slammed closed with a heavy clang, trapping them inside.
"About time," Corran growled, entirely unsurprised. He ignited his lightsaber. "I'll take this side."
Jenn nodded, tossed her robe aside, then drew and ignited her own blade. Together, they cut through the edge of the heavy door, which was just dense enough to keep their task from going quickly. But in only a few minutes, they managed to cut through the entire outline of the door.
Corran stepped back as he finished the last bit at the top, and as soon as he was out of the way, Jenn released her telekinetic grip on the door and allowed it to fall into the room with a thunderous crash.
"Just in case they didn't already know where we are," Corran said dryly as the last echoes died away. He deactivated his lightsaber, shrugged out of his own gray cassock, and threw it aside as they left the complex and headed back up into the pylon.
"You have any charges left?" Jenn asked him as they jogged up the first switchback ramp.
Corran quickly patted at the pockets of his dark gray fatigues. "Nope," he replied. "I gave them all to you before you went in."
"Too bad," Jenn panted as they rounded a corner. "I was going to blow up this section so no one could get in behind us and mess with the charges." She looked back at him. "So what's your idea?"
He looked down almost reluctantly at her left hand, which was covered in recently-healed burn scarring. "You're not going to like it."
"Now are you glad I insisted we fly out inside the perimeter of the shield anyway?" Han Solo said from the pilot's seat of his starship, turning to look behind himself. "I knew the Sith were gonna pull something stupid like this."
"Congratulations on your insightful deduction," Darth Vader replied with withering sarcasm. From his seat behind Han, he gestured brusquely toward the station. "Now find us a docking bay."
"No, wait," Revan said from the other passenger seat. "Ben and Anakin are near the factory in the central section, and they need our help. Head for their position."
"Let's hope they're not in too much danger, since we can't go too fast," Han replied. "Even this fancy new masking field can't disguise how strange it would be for a chunk of space rock to suddenly change course. We screw up, and every one of those ships out there is gonna come running our way."
"Perhaps we should summon the Phoenix and begin the attack now to provide cover," said Vader.
"With the alarm raised in there, they probably suspect we're here anyway," Revan agreed. "We might as well hit them now before they can prepare their defenses even more."
The comm buzzed, and, seeing it was on the encrypted frequency, Han put it through. "Hail: HK-47 calling Master Revan. Come in, Master Revan." The droid's voice was scratchy and distorted with interference from the encryption protocols, but still understandable.
Revan gave Han a 'go-ahead' gesture, and he opened a channel. "Revan here. What is it, HK?"
"Aggravated Report: The traitorous Sith have given away our positions and are attempting to commandeer the station for themselves. I have issued orders to all of my YVHK droids to blast those moronic meatbags on sight. Further, the doors to all three plasma intake complexes have sealed, presumably on Pyrron's order. Masters Horn and Talmak were able to plant their charges, but neither my squad nor Beta Squad were able to get to our targets. Blue Max is attempting to open the door, but I estimate our position will be overrun significantly before we can accomplish our goal." In the background, over the sound of blaster-fire, Max could be heard cursing with increasing vitriol as he struggled with the computer.
"We should send in Jacen and Qeris' teams," Han said, looking back at the Jedi Master.
"Agreed," Revan said with a brief nod.
"Where are the boys?" Han asked, carefully changing course.
Revan pointed out of the viewport at the huge bronze-colored station. "Near the factory entrance on Level Seven."
Jenn stared at her fellow Jedi Master for a moment, nonplussed. "You're right; I don't like this idea," she said flatly.
Corran shrugged helplessly. "The turbolift is locked down; it's either this or fight our way up on foot through an entire pylon's worth of Burned." He attempted a reassuring grin. "If it helps, we're probably the only two Jedi who could pull this off."
"It doesn't help," Jenn replied. She shrugged herself. "But I can't think of anything better, either. All right, how do we do this?"
"Well, part of each pylon is just one huge shaft to draw the star-matter up into the factory, processing and converting it to usable materials along the way," Corran said, looking intently at the wall nearby. "The plasma itself is still sheathed by the force-field we saw in the intake complex, so that'll offer us some shielding."
Jenn looked over at him, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "And you're sure you can absorb and deflect the remaining heat? We are talking about the stuff stars are made of."
Corran nodded determinedly. "Well, I wouldn't want to try this in open vacuum, unshielded, but yeah, I'm pretty sure I can do this if we don't take too long."
"I've never been that good at self-levitation," Jenn warned.
Corran shrugged again. "Nobody is, really. It's like trying to pick yourself up off the ground; most Jedi just can't wrap their heads around it." He gestured toward the wall. "That's why you're going to sit on my shoulders and focus on levitating me. We do this quickly enough, we won't get more than a slight sunburn." He grimaced. "I hope."
"All right then, let's do this," Jenn said as she unfastened the jacket of her fatigues, then tossed it aside. She took her lightsaber in one hand and pulled a pair of goggles out of a compartment on her belt with the other.
Corran paused in removing his own jacket, gesturing to her heavily scarred left arm and shoulder, which were left bare by her sleeveless gray undershirt. "If there was another way to do this…"
Jenn opened and closed her burned fingers. "These aren't the only scars I have," she said shortly. "They're just the most visible." She settled her polarized goggles into place. "Come on, let's find a maintenance opening into the plasma shaft. We're gonna have company any minute."
They swiftly located a maintenance hatch, though they had to break the electronic lock to override the safety protocols; apparently the hatch was specifically designed not to open while the intake shaft was drawing plasma, further highlighting what a dodgy idea this was.
"Desperate times," Jenn murmured.
She placed her boot on Corran's interwoven fingers and stepped up to swing her other leg around his neck. Once she was settled in place on his shoulders, she closed her eyes and sank into concentration, drawing deeply upon the Force.
As Corran placed his hands on her knees, she sensed him doing the same. The heat from the open hatch was like an oven on full blast, the glare nearly blinding even through their polarized goggles. Jenn's burned arm ached, echoing the agonizing pain that had left the scars, but she ignored it, further pushing aside all distractions.
She focused on getting a secure telekinetic grip on her comrade, preparing to lift their combined weight upwards as quickly as she could. She would have to propel them faster than she had ever lifted a living thing before, she knew, but she pushed her worries about this aside, keeping herself entirely in the moment, devoted completely to her task.
Corran began absorbing heat, converting it to an invisible protective shield for them both. He took a last breath of the relatively cool air outside the shaft, then stepped forward into nothingness.
They fell for a pair of heartbeats, but Jenn's concentration prevailed, and as she focused, sweating both with the effort and with the almost unbearable heat of the intake shaft, they began to float upwards, moving faster and faster with each passing second.
As the two Jedi Masters worked together, they both began to convert the heat energy into telekinetic power focused through Jenn, and shielding focused through Corran; the more energy they absorbed, the faster they moved, and the stronger the shield became.
Jenn's eyes were closed, but still she could sense the walls of the shaft whipping by in an endless blur of motion, the plasma stream across the kilometers-wide shaft a streak of yellow light.
Focused completely on drawing them both up the shaft like a blaster bolt through the barrel of a rifle, Jenn lost all track of time. Seconds seemed to drag by like hours, the effort almost too much to bear, the heat seeming to pass through her in waves and burning away a bit at a time, until she felt that every part of her was aflame, that she was flame, her physical form scorched entirely away.
Finally she sensed that they were drawing near the top of the shaft, and only moments later they soared out into the open space of the factory.
Hidden in one of the control rooms overlooking the factory, Anakin looked up as he saw a bright spot, like a meteor streaking across the sky, fly upwards from the bottom of the cavernously huge spherical space, moving incredibly fast.
"That's Jenn and Corran," Ben observed, astonished.
Carefully, as subtly as he was able, Anakin called out to his Master and Jenn through the Force, beckoning them to direct their flight towards the boys' position. The spot changed course, and by wordless guidance from Anakin, slowly floated to a halt inside an airlock next to the control room. Anakin heard the clack of keys somewhere off to his left as Ben swiftly opened and then closed the airlock door.
Once the outer door was closed, he and his cousin ran through the adjoining chambers and opened the airlock as soon as the automated pressurization was complete. There they found Jenn and Corran both sprawled facedown on the floor, their clothes charred, blackened and smoking, their skin bright red as if from severe radiation burns. Both Masters' hair and skin had a faint sheen of encrusted salt from flash-dried sweat.
However, in only moments, the angry red hue faded from both Corran and Jenn's skin as they both drew on the Force to heal themselves. The airlock chamber was uncomfortably hot from the residual heat radiating from their bodies, but rapidly cooled as the fans circulated fresh air through the room.
Corran was the first to move, groaning, and one entire leg of his trousers broke with a brittle crackle and flaked away as he bent his knee, starting to roll himself over. Anakin swiftly shrugged out of his gray robe and handed it to his Master as the man sat up. Nearby, Ben gave his robe to Jenn as her scorched clothing also flaked away with her movements. As far as Anakin could tell, only their lightsabers had gone through the ordeal unharmed; both Masters held their Jedi weapons in one hand, while the rest of the contents of their pockets and belt compartments were little more than melted scraps of metal and plastic scattered on the floor.
Jenn draped the robe over one shoulder to cover herself as she gingerly sat up, wincing, and leaned back against the wall of the small square airlock. "Let's never do that again," she said wearily to Corran, her voice hoarse.
The other Jedi Master nodded tiredly. "One hundred percent agreed."
"That was amazing!" Ben exclaimed. "I can't believe you survived that!"
"Me, neither," Jenn said with wry amusement. "Do me a favor and see if you can find a few liters of water, hmm?" She glanced down at her now-bare legs and feet beneath the broad drape of the robe. "Also some clothes," she added, sounding a bit embarrassed.
"There are some clone barracks nearby; I'll see what I can find," Anakin volunteered. "Ben, you stay here and help them back into the control room."
Ben nodded once. "We managed to lose the Burned Ones who were chasing us," he explained. "Only a matter of time until they find us again, though. Sorry to rush you, but we're going to have to move quickly."
"Naturally," Corran panted. "Days like this never let you catch your breath."
"I have to warn you, I've never been very good at energy absorption," Ami Skywalker murmured to Qeris as the two of them stood near the airlock in their shielded, masked dropship.
Qeris adjusted one of her armored gauntlets, checking the seal. "It's not one of my strengths, either," she admitted calmly. She smiled at the girl. "I suppose that puts us on equal footing with our troops," she said with a slight gesture to the black-armored commandos visible through the open hatch.
"I know Jedi Masters who aren't on equal footing with those guys," Ami said half-jokingly. "It's me I'm worried about." She thumped a gloved hand against the breastplate of her black armor. "Even with this fancy suit Jaina helped me make on the way out here, I'm still not sure I can hold up against the kind of power the Burned can throw at us."
"Anxiety before a battle is perfectly natural," said Qeris. "But remember our discussion earlier; the Light Side gives great resistance to the power of the Burned. Maintain focus, keep your calm-"
"And keep breathing," Ami finished for her. "I know." She smiled, though her nervousness was still plain. "Thanks." Her smile turned slightly mischievous. "You know, I can see why Jacen likes you."
"I am rather fond of him as well," Qeris replied evenly, though she allowed a hint of humor into her expression.
"So how serious are you guys?" Ami asked curiously. She paused, as if just then realizing this might have been overly forward. "Er, if you don't mind me asking."
"Quite serious," Qeris replied. She smiled slightly. "And I don't mind you asking. As a member of his family, your concern for him is quite natural."
"Yeah, we were all pretty concerned there for a while," said Ami. "No offense, but he was acting pretty alarming when you guys first came back."
"He was," Qeris agreed with a slight frown. "Fortunately, he seems to be past all that now."
"I think it was because of you," Ami said seriously. "Now, I'll admit you and I haven't talked much, so we don't really know each other that well, but our family has always been pretty close, so I know Jacen. From what little people have been willing to tell me about what happened to you guys… I'm not sure if he would have done what he did if you hadn't been with him. Don't tell him I said this, but I don't think he would have made it without you. He could have fallen for real."
Qeris nodded solemnly. "I wouldn't have made it without him, either," she said softly.
Ami just stood next to her in silence for a moment, then smiled to lighten the mood. "Well, assuming we all survive this," she said, clapping a friendly hand on Qeris' shoulder, "welcome to the family. You don't have to be crazy to be one of us…"
"…but it helps," Qeris finished amusedly.
Ami grinned. "See? You're fitting in already."
In another shielded, masked dropship many kilometers away near the third pylon, Jaina also stood next to the airlock as she waited for the ship to draw into position, performing last-minute checks of her own armor. Her helmet sat on a shelf nearby along with her lightsaber and a few other assorted pieces of equipment.
She looked up as the door opened and her brother walked in, dressed in his own suit of armor and sweeping black cloak. For some reason, it struck Jaina as encouraging that he no longer wore his hair in a precisely trimmed military style, and had instead let it turn into a shorter version of his usual tousled mop.
Jacen grinned. "Hey Jaina, where does a full-grown rancor sit?"
Jaina struggled to maintain a straight face. "Anywhere he wants."
Somehow, Jacen's grin grew even broader. "That's right. But, do you know why TIE fighters scream in space?"
"Because they miss their mothership," Jaina replied between unsuccessfully suppressed chuckles.
Jacen frowned in mock disappointment. "I've told you these before, haven't I?"
"You have," Jaina said with a smile. "But for once, I don't mind."
Jacen shrugged lightly, but then his expression turned more serious. "Look at us, huh?" he said. "A year ago, could you have even imagined this is where we'd end up?"
"Well, I sorta figured you'd grow a scruffy-looking beard eventually," Jaina joked. She gestured around. "But the rest of this? Not so much."
A light smile crossed Jacen's face at her joke, but it faded quickly. "You know, there's a good chance we might not live through this," he said quietly. "So, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted when I first came back. I should never have spoken to you like that."
"You already apologized," said Jaina. "And I've already forgiven you." She allowed a slight wry smile to quirk one corner of her mouth. "Just don't do it again."
Jacen mirrored her expression. "Deal."
"Almost in position, Commander," the pilot said through the intercom.
Jacen pressed the 'reply' button on the wall panel next to him. "Acknowledged."
Jaina picked up her lightsaber and stood ready next to the door. "Here we go again."
Jacen took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Things are at their worst," he said. "Now we get to find out who we all really are."
-/\-
Author's Note: My apologies if I haven't replied to your reviews recently. Darth Real Life has been demanding much more of my time lately, and I haven't been able to get online much the last few weeks. But please know that your comments are very much appreciated. Major thanks to hairyhen for beta reading. Till next time, thanks for reading!