Forging a Show Down
FtF I FtF
"You know the thing about bases is, the command structure is the most obvious thing. It doesn't matter what species you are, or what galaxy you're from. All you have to do is take one look at the base and you know where all the important people are," veteran bounty hunter Latts Razzi blathered on. Her hologram flickered as her ship continued to move in formation with the others. Their ultimate goal was a desolate world in the Borkeen system, home of the Yuuzhan Vong garrison. "I mean. I get not saluting your boss in the field, or even wearing your rank when you're out there. But if you're going to set up your base so that everyone knows where your bosses are, what's the point?"
"Latts, can you please, shut up?" Sugi grumbled.
"And I thought I'd already have done it all," Latts continued without a care. "But playing bowling with a ball of space-rock takes the cake."
Reminded by her words, Doran and his friends all looked out the cockpit window at the sizable mass of rock and ice floating along outside. There were five ships positioned all around it, using their tractor beams to keep the twenty-meter long ball of space-debris on course. A course that was meticulously planned down to the centimeter. Any deviation wouldn't exactly result in 'mission failure,' but it'd make their mission all the more suicidal. With the Yuuzhan Vong base shielded from orbital strikes by their dovin basal defenses, and relatively protected from ground assault due to their tactical position at the end of a canyon, something had to be done to take out the base's ability to call for help. The something turned out to be the mass of rock and ice held within the team's tractor beams. It was a plan only Jedi and unconventional bounty hunters would have thought of.
Some might ask, if they were going to smash a meteorite into the base, why didn't they just get a larger rock and destroy the entire thing instead of one building. The answer was that the Yuuzhan Vong had a sensor net of dovin basal mines that swept the region around the world at regular intervals. The Smugglers had timed that sweep and realized that any rock bigger than the one they were hauling would slow them down enough for that sweep to pick them up. They were already hitting the planet at high speeds, at a very steep angle, and even then they'd just barely be missed.
"[Even though we're approaching from the opposite side of the planet, there's no telling how powerful the Vong sensors are or if they can pick us up once we break atmo,]"Parwan bounty hunter Derrown said in his native tongue. "[I recommend we all shut down propulsion and kill tractors beams the second we break atmo to minimize our gravimetric profiles. The momentum we've built should keep the meteorite on course.]"
"Agreed," Cad Bane wheezed out, flipping the necessary switches that would power down the freighter under his command.
"Here's to hoping our calculations were right," Seripas chattered. "Otherwise, we're about to look really, really stupid as we all burn up on entry."
"It'll work," Cad Bane said confidently. He tightened his grip on the steering column. "All ships, re-entry in five minutes. I suggest you all hold on to something."
Doran and his friends strapped themselves into their jumpseats as a cone of red flame flared into existence at the very front of the space rock and the ships escorting it. The old freighter began to shake violently, creaks and groans echoing throughout the ship as all sorts of panels went red and an alarm began to shriek. The space-rock hissed and crackled, parts of it disintegrating as it threatened to tear free of the tractor-beams of the ships surrounding it.
"Release tractors and enter free-fall until several hundred meters in ten seconds," Cad Bane said with unnerving calm.
"Five, four, three, two," Derrown picked up the countdown halfway through.
When he hit 'two' the conical flames had dispersed and the space rock was now hurling through the sky in a shallow, sub-orbital arc. The five old vessels attached to the meteor all sharply veered away the second their tractor beams were shut off. The space rock flew on ahead, and the ships began a gut-to-throat-plummet through the sky.
"Well. We'll know in a few hours if the first stage of our part of the mission is a success," Cad Bane said conversationally, looking back at the teens as their ship dropped like a rock. The numbers on the altimeter on the console were flying by so fast the machine looked broken.
"Great, but it won't matter if we splat ourselves on the ground," Willow said, looking pale and nauseous as the sky flew by in an upward direction. "Shouldn't we be restarting the engines by now?"
Cad Bane nodded and flipped a switch to start the engines. Nothing happened. He flipped the switch again. Still nothing. Eyes narrowing in annoyance, he activated the comm-channel and switched frequencies. "Boy! Didn't you perform the maintenance on this ship like I asked you to?"
"Pops, I told my son to take care of it. He and his friends assured me they did."
"Then how come I can't cold-start the engines while free-falling at terminal velocity?"
"Let me check…" the line went quiet even as their ship continued to fall, much to Doran and his friends' disbelief. "Oh, sorry pops. He thought he was doing me a favor by assassinating you. I told him there was no way the plan would actual work and that I'm grounding him until you get back."
"You know I didn't raise you just so you can give me an idiot for a grandchild! Why couldn't you be like your brother and sister and actually give me a grandkid that is good at something other than screwing up? Now Sugi and the others are going to think I had a bunch of incompetents for family!"
"I know. I know. Trust me, he'll regret not being brave enough to walk up to you and pull the trigger himself."
"Who cares about that!" Willow yelled, on the verge of panic. They had just dropped lower than the tops of several distance mountain ranges. "We're about to crash!"
"Oh be quiet," Cad said in annoyance. He flipped another switch and several pressure doors in the front of the freighter slammed shut. A button push after that and the front third of the ship pushed away from the back two-thirds. The occupied third of the ship had its own thrusters and managed to stay in the air as the rest of the ship slammed into the rocky ground and blew apart in a hail of fiery shrapnel.
"Oh," Willow whispered, unable to release the death-grips she had on Doran and Jintar's hands.
"Well this is an auspicious start," Tracyn deadpanned. "Instead of the Vong going up in a fireball, we nearly did."
"The day's still young," Cad Bane said in a bored tone, landing the ship at the designated meeting-spot. "Plenty of time to go up in a ball of flame yet."
The elderly Duros undid his safety harness and walked past the still petrified teens without giving anyone a single glance.
"Let's ride with the Mandalorian on the way back," Jintar whispered.
"I hope his ship has room," Dinua agreed. Doran knew that if even Dinua 'I am tough as durasteel' Jeban had been shaken, it was okay to be scared out of his mind.
"How do you think the mission's going so far?" Willow whispered to Doran, finally releasing her grip.
"Well, there weren't any Vong ships in orbit, so we know that they've taken the bait," Doran said, undoing his safety harness. "Hopefully the Vong don't have any surprises in store for us. Otherwise things are going to get real bad, real quick."
"Hey, are you going to just sit in your seats all day?" Cad barked from the airlock of the ship. "We're not here to sight-see."
"He sounds grumpy," Doran commented mildly.
"His own grandkid just tried to assassinate him, wouldn't you be?" Willow remarked.
"I don't think that's why he's mad," Tracyn shook her head. "He's probably actually happy that his grandson took the initiative. What he's angry and disappointed about is that his son failed and that the plan was so stupid."
"That's probably more likely," Dinua concurred.
"Huh?" Willow was flummoxed.
"Family of skilled killers with barely any morals," Doran reminded. "Only the toughest can survive in the cut-throat atmosphere of their profession."
"The Bane Consortium? I know."
"No, Kyr'tsad."
"What's the saying? It takes one to know one?" Tracyn quipped with an innocent air that seemed in stark contrast to the subject matter.
"Ah," Willow shivered.
They emerged from the front half of Cad Bane's freighter, shivering at the below-freezing temperatures that immediately washed over them.
"Right, the planet's uninhabited for a reason," Dinua muttered.
"Gargon's colder," Jintar quipped. "Not by much though."
The other bounty hunters approached.
"Spectacular landing, old man." Sugi remarked glibly.
"Engine trouble," was all Cad Bane said.
"We're lucky we put all our speeders into Djarin's ship. Would have hated to walk to the other side of the planet," Twazzi said.
Embo, Latts, and Seripas were in the process of unloading said speeders.
"Time for a little sight-seeing," Asajj Ventress said casually.
"[This is a piss-poor planet to die on,]" Derrown said, looking around. He sounded depressed, or as depressed as his language was able to convey.
"We came from nothing and return to nothing. Does it matter where we fall?" Sugi said philosophically. "Technically all of us should have kicked the bucket ages ago. We're just too stubborn."
"Can we not talk about dying on this world?" Doran spoke up. "Some of us still have over a century of life to live."
Several of the older bounty hunters smirked at that, not reassuring the group of teens at all.
"Doran, I just want to say, a part of me will be celebrating when you leave Gargon," Jintar said dryly. "The rest of me is going to be bored stiff."
"You'll have Dinua keeping you company," Doran pointed out. "I'm sure she can keep life interesting in my place."
"I'm lacking any connection with the Force," Dinua shook her head. "There's no way I'll be able to find suicidal missions on the scale you encounter."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Willow interjected.
Doran patted Willows head as if she had just said something cute. "Not for a Mandalorian."
"Oh, right. I forgot they aren't normal people."
"Given who we're surrounded by, how can you forget?" Tracyn quipped, motioning at Asajj, Din, Cad, and the others.
"You kids only have to worry about that if we survive this," Latts said cheerfully, bringing two speederbikes over to them. "We haven't even engaged the Vong yet, so talks of a future are premature."
"You bounty hunters suck at pep talks," Tracyn snorted.
"Nah, we're just realist," Sugi argued.
"[Are we going to stand here and chat all night?]" Derrown complained.
"Alright people," Cad Bane mounted one of the speeders with a long-rifle slung over one shoulder and two blasters at his side. "Mount up. We have a long journey ahead of us and if the Jedi kid is right, the destination promises to be a lot of fun."
"I'm beginning to question my definition of fun," Willow whispered to Doran as she loaded up on the same speederbike he was on. She ignored Dinua's death-glare in the process as the petite, dark-haired Mandalorian ended up loading up on Jintar's bike. "Please tell me your idea of fun isn't the Mandalorian, crotchety-old-bounty-hunter standard."
"Don't worry, I still see suicidal missions as suicidal," Doran said reassuringly. He did his best to ignore Willow's firm grip around his waist considering the fact he was on a speederbike. "My idea of fun doesn't involve death in any way or form."
"Thank the Force."
"Huh?"
"I was worried that after a year of being in a Mando training camp, I'd change into one. But if you're still sane after a year, there's hope for me."
"The Di'kut is the most thickheaded person I know," Dinua said darkly. They started off across the desert terrain. "People with air-for-brains won't stand a chance."
"Ahhhh, teenage drama," Latts sighed, her bike drawing even with the teens. "Takes me back to me youth on the streets of Nar Shadda. I broke the hearts of many a boy."
"Quite literally if what Highsinger said is true," Cad Bane remarked.
"Highsinger, I miss that bucket of bolts."
"Your mom really thought that letting you hang out with psychopathic killers was a good thing?"
"She didn't expect me to run into Bane and the others," Doran shook his head.
"I'm talking about the Mandalorians," Willow deadpanned.
"Har, har. Your mom sent you to Gargon for the same reason."
"Yet for some reason I ended up here on a planet that has only letters and numbers for a name, riding across a freezing desert, alongside legends from the Clone Wars."
"I find my life a whole lot easier if I don't question how I get into these situations," Doran said sagely.
Seeing Embo, Cad, and Din take the lead, Willow chuckled and nodded. "You have a point. How do you think the New Republic ships are doing now?"
Doran turned his gaze to the starry sky. "If everything's gone as timed. They should be engaging Gorak Lah's fleet, right about…. now."
FtF II FtF
"Brace for impact!" Kell Trainer heard one of the bridge-crew cry out. Because said bridge-crew was an 'unorthodox' Mandalorian, the cry wasn't full of panic or fear. Rather, it sounded excited, as if the person couldn't be happier that their ship was being broadsided by a Mandalorian Interceptor-class frigate.
It was one of three frigates the Mandalorians had fielded. They had also deployed two Crusader-class corvettes, in addition to a dozen freighters, a squadron of Gladiator-class assault fighters, a squad of Kabur-class starfighters, and even a half-dozen Kom'rk-class fighter transports. Kell Tainer wasn't as enthused as his fellow bridge-denizens. The Mandalorian forces under Boba Fett were really buying into the 'make the combat look real' part of their strategy.
In comparison, the 'New Republic' forces had scrounged up two MC30-frigates, a Nebulon-B escort frigate, an antiquated Victory II-class frigate that Wraith Squadron had scavenged from an old war museum, and a half-dozen freighters. The flagship from which Face commanded the battle was a lone Nebula-class Star Destroyer called the Obi-Wan. The Obi-Wan and its escorting MC30-frigates had 'coincidentally' been encountered on their Outer Rim patrol-route and requisitioned at the last moment by Face through good old fashion skullduggery and bureaucratic sleight of hand. And it was a good thing too considering the firepower Boba Fett was advertising.
The Nebulon-B Kell was on shook again. Both the New Republic and Mandalorian ships were weaving in and around each other in a delicate dance. The dance partners traded ion, laser, and plasma fire, creating impressive scarring on the armor plating, and breaches in less critical areas. Nevertheless, the old military saying that 'friendly fire wasn't' came to mind. It was only a matter of time before someone slipped up. Not that either side could afford to stop and pull out of the plan now.
"Shields over the connecting spar are failing," another Mandalorian from Clan Rook said with an eager grin stretching across his face.
"Hey, now's your chance to shoot at Fett's people and get away with it," Kell Tainer barked out. "Why don't I see our guns hitting anything?"
"We're on it!" The Mandalorians of Clan Rook seemed all too eager to fire on the swarming Protectorate forces.
"Just remember not to kill any of them," Kell said hastily.
"Too die in battle is glorious, they won't mind!"
Kell's face froze upon hearing as his brain momentarily crashed from a sudden lack of IQ. He then quickly switched tactics. "Yeah, but then their buddies will make us die gloriously in battle. And if you remember, we're not actually supposed to be killing each other. It'll be really embarrassing if we planned all this out only for the Vong to arrive and see nothing but the remains of our ships. Save your accurate shots for them."
Another sensor panel began beeping.
"Mr. Tainer! We have contacts emerging from hyperspace!"
"Confirm they're Vong."
"Confirmed!"
"Relay the information to the Obi-Wan, jettison our faux-graveyard, and began the planned fleet maneuvers."
"Understood!"
"This is it boys!" Kell gripped the armrests of his captain's chair. "Now things get real!"
FtF III FtF
"Emerging from dark space in three, two, one…"
Normal space reverted all around Gorak Lah's senses as he remained tied to his ship's senses via cognition hood. The moment it did, he quickly assessed the situation. The Mandalorian forces were in full pursuit of a battered and battle-scarred New Republic force. Through the augmented senses of his ship, he could see burnt out fighter parts, armor plating, even whole ships were left adrift in the wake of the retreat. Smoke trailed from some of the surviving ships, and one of the New Republic frigates only had half its engines functional and was rapidly falling behind. It appeared as if the New Republic had gave as good as it had gotten but that their morale had been shattered.
"Commander, the New Republic still have an assault cruiser. Our forces cannot match that firepower."
"How soon until they clear the planet's gravity shadow?" Gorak said, ignoring the warning.
"They'll be clear to jump in approximately ten minutes."
"Time to firing range?"
"Five."
"Have the Mandalorians concentrate their fire on the cruiser. We'll flank their position and focus on their damaged frigate. Full speed ahead. We can't let them get away. Any sign of the ship transporting the Jeedai? "
"Scanning the gravimetric profiles of the ships. Commander! We've identified one vessel that was at the mercenary base!"
"Where!?"
"It is currently being shielded by the cruiser."
"The Mandalorians say that if we can draw away the cruiser's escorts, they'll launch their attack."
Gorak Lah's focus bounced back and forth as the incoming information flooded in. With the prey in sight but time fast slipping away, he wanted to be certain that victory would finally be within his grasp. They might not be able to fully eliminate the New Republic force, but if all they had to do was peel away that freighter from the cruiser like predators would separate a calf from its mother, then it was doable. "Inform the Mandalorians to get set up for their attack run. In the meantime, have them maneuver so it looks as if they too will be focusing on the damaged frigate. When our forces get within firing range, the demoralized foe will have to make a choice. The second they commit, have the Mandalorians focus on splitting that freighter away from the cruiser. Our forces will assist the moment we're within range."
"Yes, commander!" the grins on the faces of the warriors matched his own. "Entering firing range in two minutes."
Finally! Gorak Lah silently rejoiced. As the ships maneuvered according to his instructions, he kept his eyes on the distant freighter. There was no escape for the Jeedai this time.
The battle unfolded before his eyes exactly as he had imagined it. His taskforce of three vessels and two squadrons of fighters screamed in towards the damaged frigate. At the same time, the Mandalorian ships broke off their attack on the main group and feinted towards the same target. In response, the New Republic reacted as planned and sent vessels to support the beleaguered ship.
Just as his taskforce entered firing range, however, the central villip in the choir made a squelching noise and suddenly turned grey. Gorak would have ignored it if not for the fact that that particular, short-ranged villip had its counterpart back at the planetary garrison's command structure. They were still within the villip's range, so it turning grey meant that the counterpart had died. And the only way for the counterpart, located in the center of the command structure within the garrison, to have died was if the building had been destroyed.
But how? It was the most heavily shielded building on the base. Its dovin basal should have been capable of holding off a planetary bombardment long enough for the garrison to get a warning off. But no such warning had been given.
While Gorak was puzzling over this development, the two Yorik-akaga in his fleet were suddenly immolated in a brutal barrage of laser and plasma fire. Worse yet, the two squadrons of Yorik-et were bombarded with a wave of missiles that decimated their number. The survivors scattered in a panic and were picked off within the blink of an eye by concentrated anti-fighter fire from the larger ships.
"What?!" Gorak tried to find the source of the attack, only to feel his own assault ship shake violently a split second later.
"The Mandalorians are firing on us!"
"As well as the New Republic!"
"We've been betrayed!"
Those were the last words Gorak Lah was able to register before the New Republic frigates and Mandalorian frigates intensified their firepower. The assault cruiser's void defenses were incapable of handling such overwhelming attack. It exploded like an overripe melon, shards of coral and other biots flew out every which way as all twelve warriors on board were killed in an instant.
FtF IV FtF
Dressed in camouflaged outfits that matched the reds and orange of their rocky surroundings, Doran, Twazzi, and Jintar stood atop the partially collapsed ruins of one of the rocky walls that had once loomed over the canyon. At the end of the canyon was the Yuuzhan Vong base. Said base was currently in a state of chaos. The piece of space-rock had landed smack dab in the center of the base. Though most of the rock had burned off during its entry and subsequent flight, enough of it had survived to completely obliterate the central building. The shockwave from the impact had also leveled the nearby coralline structures and collapsed the back-half of the base into the ravine behind it.
Hurling the mass of space-rock through the atmosphere so that it would shoot down the center of the canyon to hit a building had been the proverbial threading of a needle. Doran had never thought that the plan would actually work as drawn up. On the ride over, they had seen the giant plume of dust and smoke the impact had caused. A plume that had only just settled by the time they had reached the region. The original walls of the canyon had also caved in from the sound-barrier-breaking meteorite barreling right through it.
"Over there," Jintar, looking through a pair of electrobinoculars pointed. "It looks like the garrison was recently reinforced."
Doran and Twazzi held up electrobinoculars of their own. Among the damaged parts of the base were two Yuuzhan Vong troop transports that hadn't been accounted for. They were fortunate that both appeared to have been damaged by falling debris and were no longer space-worthy, but their presence meant that there was more than likely more Yuuzhan Vong in the base than expected.
"I hope those were the only ships we missed," Twazzi grumbled. She stashed her electrobinoculars and pulled out three small cube-like objects. "Okay, kids. Listen up. For the holo-shroud to work, we need to first capture the image of the being we want to replicate. That means we need to go down there and find three different Vong to off, hide their bodies, and replace them. The power-cell in the emitters only last for an hour, so we need to plant our explosives on those turret-towers and get clear before then. Any questions? None? Good. Then let's get moving."
The trio crouched down low and crept across the giant boulders along the upper rim of the canyon. Their target was a bunker-like growth of coral. It was the smallest of three situated on their side of the top part of the canyon, meant as an overwatch and security node. It was manned and had an anti-starfighter plasma cannon sticking out of it. With the base on high alert, the cannon continued to track back and forth skyward and the two warriors inside were on guard. There were no windows on the bunker, but the warriors were hooked up to modified cognition-hoods that allowed them to use the living building's senses to see their surroundings.
Twazzi, Doran, and Jintar had all been prepared for that. Crawling along the ground, Doran held up a hand-held sonar-like scanner that allowed him to determine which part of this bunker was the thinnest. Upon finding the location, he attached a shaped charge to the wall of the bunker. Once he slipped back over the ridge, he activated the detonator. A muffled whumph sounded above, and he, Jintar, and Twazzi quickly made their way to the bunker.
"Only two," Jintar said, counting the corpses.
"Only one is in any condition for the shroud to copy," Twazzi clicked her tongue. One of the Yuuzhan Vong had actually been leaning on the wall where the charge had been placed and had been reduced to Vong-bits by the spray of superheated metal. "We can't all be the same person. We'll need two more Vong."
"We'll have to take out a second bunker then," Doran glanced off into the distance. The next bunker, however, was in a much more exposed area right above the base and a lot bigger.
"No time," Twazzi shook her head. She motioned to Doran. "We're going to change things up. How good are you at pretending to be a Vong?"
"Huh?"
"I make it a policy to avoid them so I can't tell poodoo from beans. You're a Jedi, practically lived with them for a year," Twazzi elaborated. She unslung the backpack of explosives she was wearing and held it out for Doran to take. "Use your holo-shroud, get an image of this stiff, and take care of the main turrets."
"What about you two?"
"We'll rejoin Cad and the others," Twazzi said. "Remember, it's just a holo-shroud. If someone touches you, the disguise will fail. But if you don't take out those turrets, this attack will fail and you and all your friends will probably be killed."
"Great, no pressure," Doran said dryly.
"That's the spirit."
"Doran, watch your back," Jintar said solemnly.
"Will do." Doran ran the holo-shroud cube over the dead Yuuzhan Vong, and when it chirped, he attached the cube to his utility belt and activated it. "How do I look?"
"Positively Vong," Twazzi said in approval. "Good luck."
With more confidence than he felt, Doran emerged from the ruined bunker. As long as no one stopped to question him, Doran figured he'd be okay.
With the garrison already in a state of chaos thanks to the meteorite obliterating its center and causing a third of it to fall into a gorge, Doran was able to slip into the base with no one else being the wiser. There were Yuuzhan Vong rushing every which way while a line of warriors stood on a defensive wall that stretched from one side of the canyon to the other. Doran goal was a line of five, tree-like coral structures that were integrated with this wall. On top of each coral tree was a heavy plasma cannon capable of both anti-ground and anti-air fire. Any attack on the base would fail if these turrets weren't taken out.
All Doran had to do was walk along the wall full of on-alert warriors and plant explosives on each tower.
Simple.
Doran approached the base of the wall and subtly utilized the sonar device on base of one of the towers. He clicked his tongue when he saw that the base was too thick for his explosives to do any good. He'd have to plant the explosives much higher if he wanted to eliminate the turret towers. His main problem was that the organic lift that led to the upper part of the wall was guarded by four burly-looking warriors in full armor. Say what you want about the Yuuzhan Vong's mindless obedience, but two-meter-plus tall hulks of muscle, clad in chitin-like armor, with crab-shell-like helmets, and spiked amphistaffs, was not something anyone would want to run into.
Doran wouldn't even be able to use the Force on these door guards. He paused in thought. He knew he didn't have much time until someone realized he was standing around and not at 'his' post. Then the thought stuck him. He stealthily returned back to the path that led down from the top of the canyon, then made a ragged gasping sound and started staggering back down
"Jeedai! Jeedai!" Doran yelled out with his best Yuuzhan Vong accent. At first his appearance went unnoticed. But then one of the warriors on the wall saw him. Doran made eye-contact and pointed back in the direction of his bunker. He wheezed out. "Jeedai!"
The warrior on the wall tapped the warrior closest to him, and soon the alarm went out. To Doran's great surprise, two of the turrets turned in the direction of the bunker and began blasting away. The noise drew the attention of the rest of the base. Several of the warriors on the wall started climbing the cliff towards Doran's location. Doran knew he couldn't let them reach him or his cover would be blown. Faking that he was succumbing to his wounds, Doran grasped at his side and fell off the narrow passage in a swan-dive any stunt-person would be proud of. He hit the ground, a cloud of dirt and dust poofing into the air on impact.
The warriors that had been heading up to him paused, clearly wondering what to do next. An orderbarked by a senior Yuuzhan Vong warrior from below had the rest surging up the canyon wall en masse. Included among the rush of Yuuzhan Vong warriors were the four hulking guards that had been controlling the organic lift.
In the meantime, Doran could only groan in discomfort. Using the Force to cushion his fall only preserved his life and kept him from sustaining serious injury. He still had to deal with the hard rocks digging into his back and the 'you're an idiot for flopping off a cliff from over ten meters high' pain that wracked his body. Nevertheless, he knew he had a limited amount of time before those warriors realized there was no one else up top.
Feeling like a dirt-zombie of some kind, Doran crawled along the ground by the defensive wall. He hauled himself into the lift and stroked the nerve-cluster he had seen the warriors used. The lift took him to the very top of the wall. There, two warriors turned around at the sound of the lift's arrival and saw the dirt-encrusted Jedi youth.
"A human?" One of the warriors said in surprise.
Doran was taken aback and reached for the holo-shroud matrix. When he held it up, he finally saw its ruined state and realized that it had been destroyed in his earlier fall. "Oh, poodoo."
"He must be one of the slaves brought by the sub-commander. Why are you here?" the second warrior asked.
Doran was further flummoxed, but his brain kicked into overdrive. He suddenly wanted to see just how gullible these warriors were. "The…errr…I'm supposed to deliver special sensors to each turret tower."
"What sensors?"
Doran held out a rectangular block of explosive. "These special bricks are designed to detect the cloaking technology used by the New Republic Special Forces. You did hear that warrior yell about Jedi, right? The Jedi are here with the New Republic. But they're using special technology. The sub-commander said that these devices will detect them. Now let me plant them before the Special Forces get here."
"The Yaret-Kor towers are off-limits to you despicable creatures," the 'smarter' of the two warriors scowled, snapping his amphistaff to spear-mode.
"Then can the sub-commander entrust the two of you to place one of these in each tower?" Doran asked bowing his head low. "If the New Republic commandos attack and these turrets can't detect them, then it will be all our heads."
The smarter warrior took the brick of explosive from Doran and frowned. "I have never seen a biot like this before? How do they work?"
"That…From what the shapers told the sub-commander, who relayed the information to me, place it next to the central nerve-cluster of the Yaret-Kor. The cells within these bricks will merge with the nerve-cluster giving it an explosive increase in its sensory abilities. I do not know more."
The 'lead' warrior barked at the other in their native tongue, and then called out several more warriors still on the wall.
"Place one of these at the control clusters of each Yaret-Kor," the warrior commanded, handing out the bricks of explosives to each of the warriors present. "And be quick."
"Might I have your name, wise warrior?" Doran asked. "I wish to tell the sub-commander who among you was helpful in carrying out his command."
"I am Dor'ahn Lah," the warrior thumped his armor-plated chest proudly.
Doran froze at the pronunciation. Why did the Yuuzhan Vong with the similar name have to be a complete idiot? He gave all 'Dorans' a bad name. "I shall not forget your name. Let me hurry to tell the sub-commander your name to spread your glory."
"You have my permission to leave."
Doran didn't release his breath until he was back down on the ground away from the wall. But then he remembered what Dor'ahn Lah had said. He had said 'slaves'. That meant there were non-combatants on the base. Doran stretched out his senses towards the intact buildings. He didn't even have to focus hard. The fact that Yuuzhan Vong life was beyond his ability to sense meant that anything that stood out was non-Yuuzhan Vong life. He found a cluster of six such life-signs in the new middle of the base.
Of course it had to be the middle of the base.
Doran knew that his friends would probably kill him for what he was going to do next. But he knew the Yuuzhan Vong would more than likely kill the slaves if they started to lose. Doran, still covered in dust, unhurriedly made his way deeper into the Yuuzhan Vong base. He stayed close to the canyon wall, not exactly hiding, but not making an attempt to stand out either. As he neared the first cluster of buildings, several warriors took note of him and began to approach. Doran subtly let a detonator fall into his hands.
One of the warriors barked at Doran and held up a plasma rifle.
Doran sent a prayer to the Force, hoping that the incompetent warriors left guarding the wall hadn't been so incompetent that they couldn't plant explosives correctly. He pressed the button on the detonator just as the warriors approaching him barked out their orders again.
Five pillars of fire erupted from the plasma-turreted towers, the rumbling explosion causing everyone to reflexively duck. Bits and pieces of coral were blown out in all directions, and all five towers collapsed down onto the wall. Two of the towers landed on the same section of the wall and their combined weight ripped a hole in the hardened coral.
"The New Republic and Jedi are attacking!" Doran yelled at the warriors, taking advantage of the chaos. "Hurry, reinforce Dor'ahn Lah and the others or Sub-Commander Lah will have our heads!"
The bewilderment and confusion on the warriors' faces almost made Doran laugh out loud. They gave him one last look, realized that he had no weapons and looked the part of a woeful slave, and then joined a rush of people hurrying to the wall. Doran released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and then resumed his trek to the building with the slaves.
FtF V FtF
"Okay, I'm impressed," Sugi whistled, lowering her own pair of electrobinocular after viewing the damage. "And the kid did it all on his own?"
Twazzi, who had rejoined the others with Jintar, nodded. "Yup. I just gave him the explosives and he did what all Jedi do when they're handed things that go boom."
"Wonder if he's still alive."
"Knowing Jedi, he probably is," the armored Seripas shrugged.
"[Looks like we're up then,]" Derrown remarked. "[Can't have a Jedi baby out shine us.]"
"Derrown, Din, the upper bunkers are yours," Cad Bane acknowledged.
Derrown floated up into the air and headed towards one side of the cannon, while Din activated his jetpack and went to the other.
"Twazzi, Seripas, Embo, Sugi. It was nice knowing you all," Cad said, a ghost of a smile on his face.
"This is definitely how I imagined I'd go out," Seripas remarked from in his impressive suit of armor. "Far better than just laying about and waiting for death to come."
"When I heard that you were planning one last job, I couldn't resist," Sugi said. She checked the charges on her weapons.
"[Live with the best, die with the best.]" Embo remarked, breaking his usual silence.
"Let's do this," Twazzi revved the engine of the speederbike. "If we do re-incarnate, I'm definitely coming back as a rutian Twi'lek."
"I have to ask, why?" Sugi cocked a head at the Frenk.
"Better than a Direcat, Frogdog, or Kowakian monkey-lizard," Twazzi smirked. "And Twi'lek have a heck of an easier time getting into parties."
As the bounty hunters bantered, Jintar Skirata remained silent, a multitude of thoughts firing off in his head. Yes, he was a Mandalorian who would happily face battle. But if he was going into said battle with people already expecting to die, that wasn't exactly a morale booster.
"Hey, Mando-kid," Seripas called out.
Jintar turned in the direction of the armored bounty hunter. "Yeah?"
"Here, my favorite gun," Seripas tossed out a heavy carbine. "Use it well."
Not one for emotional gestures, Jintar nodded once. "I will."
Two explosions at the top of either side of the canyon echoed down to them.
"That's the signal," Cad revved the throttle of his speeder bike. "Move out."
Dust trails kicked up by six speeder bikes zipping across the canyon plumed up into the air. The Yuuzhan Vong on the remains of the defensive wall all saw this and blew into horns in warning. Yuuzhan Vong warriors streamed out from the gap in the wall and arranged themselves in battle lines.
The speeders stopped a hundred meters from the wall, and those on the speeders dismounted. They didn't seem at all intimidated by the ranks of armored warriors. As if perfectly timed, two more explosions lit up the rim of the canyon, parts of the canyon walls sliding down into the garrison town. Though the space between the ranks of warriors and the bounty hunters was littered with boulders and rocks of all sorts, the bounty hunters made no effort to conceal themselves.
"There are only six of you!" A scarred Yuuzhan Vong warrior bellowed out from atop the wall. "You cannot hope to…"
A sharp whistling sound sliced through the air, followed by a meaty thud. The warrior on the wall let out a choked gurgle and clutched at his neck in disbelief. He removed a shiny metal dart from his throat, but his eyes then rolled up into his head and he collapsed.
"Apologies," Cad Bane said calmly, lowering his wrist-mounted dart-launcher. "We are short on time, so can we skip the pleasantries?"
"Kill them all!" A Yuuzhan Vong warrior at the front of the gathered warriors barked out.
No sooner had he stepped out to give the order, than a rush of air breezed past him. The words had scarcely left his lips when a disc-like object scythed through him, removing not just his head, but the heads of the warriors behind and around him. The disc whooshed back to its point of origin. A metal, claw-like hand reached out into the air and grabbed the round object, and then Embo set his hat back on his head in a nonchalant fashion.
The remaining Yuuzhan Vong warriors were temporarily frozen into inaction before they recovered and made to charge the six individuals. They were once again brought up short, however, when Seripas met their charge half way in his giant, armored suit. He had leaped from his position and used rocket thrusters in the feet of his suit to propel himself to his location. The earth-shaken thump of his landing was what had taken the Yuuzhan Vong off guard. Then slats on the back of the suit opened up and a barrage of mortar shells were launched into the air. While the Yuuzhan Vong warriors were focused on those, Seripas held up both his hands and double-barreled repeating blasters popped up and began firing at point blank range. The nearest warriors never stood a chance. The mortar shells landed a moment later, sending bodies and body parts flying.
"Do-ro'ik vong pratte!" Multiple Yuuzhan Vong warriors roared.
Twazzi and Sugi both teamed up, shouldering heavy blaster-rifles and firing. They were using the rocks of the collapsed canyon walls as cover as their rapid-fire weapons mowed down everything and everyone they fired at. Cad Bane drew out both his blasters and with icy-cold determination began to stride towards the ranks of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors. His pistols landed headshots only, incoming projectiles seemingly missing him by centimeters as they flew in a storm all around him. Blastbugs and razorbugs filled the air, amphistaffs were hurled like spears, and Yuuzhan Vong plasma weaponry opened up in full and finally forced the bounty hunters to take cover for longer periods of time.
Seripas had been standing out in the open and was the largest target of the group. Despite his impressive kill-streak, the counter-fire came back in literal sheets of death. One part of his armored suit was blown away, followed by a second. Still Seripas pressed forward, laughing all the way as he did. One warrior managed to avoid the strafing attacks of Seripas' last blaster cannon and jam his amphistaff straight through a weakened portion of Seripas' armored suit. Other warriors joined in, wanting to avenge their fallen brethren and take credit for bringing down the formidable foe. Blood leaking out of his lips, his vision blurring, his armored suit completely shattered, Seripas gave the nearest Yuuzhan Vong warrior a smirk.
Between coughs, Seripas got out. "I win."
The dying bounty hunter pushed one last button and he and those around him instantly disappeared into a tiny mushroom cloud. The mini-crater left behind by the blast barely affected the flow of the battle. Within the cloud of dust thrown up by the blast, Yuuzhan Vong warriors continued to advance on the drastically outnumbered bounty hunters. The Yuuzhan Vong achieved fire-superiority despite their own significant casualties.
The bounty hunters fell back as boulder after boulder was blasted apart by the intense firepower sent in their direction. Regardless of how legendary their careers were, they were all still only mortal.
The circular buzz-saw-like hat flew out again, mowing down warriors. But before the hat could return to its holder, a razor bug slipped through. Embo's headless corpse collapsed where the bounty hunter had stood, and his hat clattered to the ground.
"Go," Sugi directed Twazzi, Cad, and Jintar. She hurled several thermal detonators over her cover and the resulting boom forced the Yuuzhan Vong to fall back for a few short seconds.
The survivors scrambled further back through the canyon, but the Yuuzhan Vong projectiles and plasma blasts resumed in full. Both Sugi and Twazzi were hit at the same time, one disappearing in a fiery blast from a blastbug, the other speared by three amphistaffs.
When the Yuuzhan Vong warriors started to pass the parked speeders, Cad Bane pressed a few buttons on his gauntlet, and the warriors at the forefront of the formation were ripped apart by six simultaneous blasts. But following a moment of silence, Yuuzhan Vong weaponry began to fly once more.
Jintar, his heart pounding, could only press himself down to the ground as the attacks blaze incessantly above him. With the heavy carbine out of ammo, the only thing he could use it as was a club. Not that the Yuuzhan Vong were going to get close enough for him to get the chance. He saw Cad resting against a boulder on the opposite canyon wall, the man's gray skin looking even more unhealthy. Peeking out from his cover, the Mandalorian teen estimated there were at least two dozen warriors still advancing. A near miss had him abruptly flatten himself again. The situation wasn't looking good.
Then a shrill whistling sound filled the air. The incoming fire was abruptly cut off and replaced by grunts and gasps of Yuuzhan Vong warriors. Jintar peeked out again. This time he saw tiny, silvery metal streaks dart through the air like seeking missiles. The high-pitch sound of the darts' propulsion system was only cut off when the darts struck a target and sparked like micro-explosives. The Yuuzhan Vong warriors had been so focused on the prey in front of them that they hadn't sensed the predator stalking from behind. Of the two-dozen or so Yuuzhan Vong, a third of their number was already out of the fight from that first wave. But the streaks of silver continued to dart out, the source being the gauntlets of one Din Djarin.
The Mandalorian seemed more than a little rough for wear, however. His once shiny armor was stained with blood and dirt, his visor was cracked, and he had applied a tourniquet to one of his legs. He held a blaster pistol in hand and proceeded to blast the nearest Yuuzhan Vong as the last of his whistling projectiles found their mark. There were still seven Yuuzhan Vong left, but seven was better than before. Three of them immediately moved to engage the battered Mandalorian, while the other four advanced on Jintar and Cad.
Cad, who had had his eyes closed during all this, opened them and whirled out from cover with his guns drawn. The Yuuzhan Vong fired at the same time he did. But unlike the Yuuzhan Vong, Cad continued to fire even as he dropped down to his knees. His first shots had taken out one of the four warriors. His next shots downed a second. Before Cad collapsed to the ground completely, he even managed to wing a third.
While the Duros bounty hunter drew the attention of the Yuuzhan Vong, Jintar ran out from his own cover and drove the butt of the blaster carbine into the chin of the fourth warrior. The impact snapped the head of the warrior back, and Jintar followed it up with a head-butt. The injured third warrior whirled around to fire at Jintar, but Jintar used the stunned fourth warrior as a shield. He walked the fourth warrior's twitching body over and threw him into the third. While the last Yuuzhan Vong warrior tried to untangle himself, Jintar grabbed one of Cad's blasters and fired, finishing the job.
He heard another blaster discharge, and when he looked up he saw that all three of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors who had challenged Din were dead. The Mandalorian's helmet was completely broken open, blood congealing in the man's hair. He also had several new stab-wounds and an arm bent in a way no human arm could bend. Despite this, Din Dijarin stood tall and didn't seem to even notice his injuries.
"Derrown?" Jintar asked.
"Dead," Din answered succinctly.
Jintar gazed about the carpet of Yuuzhan Vong corpses, the trail leading all the way back to the walls of the garrison town. "Looks like the mission's over."
"Job's done," Din agreed. He began to limp in the opposite direction of the base.
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
"To Mandalore?"
Din looked over his shoulder and smiled faintly, shaking his head once. He pulled out a comlink and just tabbed it several times. They didn't have to wait long before Din's gunship flew by over head. The canyon was wide enough for it to settle down into it, and when the rear hatch opened, Din resumed his limping steps up it.
Jintar watched the scene without a word, the wind and jetwash ruffling his clothing and hair. The dust kicked up by the hovering ship made it hard to see for certain, but the Mandalorian youth could swear that the pilot of the gunship was someone small and green. The rear hatch closed, and the ship rose back up into the air and disappeared into the direction of the setting sun.
Jintar could only stare after its wake, completely nonplussed by the fact that he was somehow still alive.
FtF VI FtF
At the time the turret towers were ripped apart by the explosives, five figures were making their way up the rubble at the back of the base. Tracyn and Dinua were using grappling lines and ascension-guns to rapidly ascend, just barely keeping up with the other three members of their unit. Willow and Asajj were using the Force to leapfrog boulders and ledges like only Force-users could. Latts Razzi was free-climbing, occasionally using her grappling boa to secure a higher hand-hold, and otherwise thumbing her nose at the dangers.
"Big explosion," Asajj Ventress said casually as she joined Willow on another outcropping of rock. "Your boyfriend's quite talented."
"He is," Willow smirked with a nod.
"Not her boyfriend," Dinua tacked on, breathing heavily as she ascended to a nearby ledge.
"Oh? He's your boyfriend then?" Asajj tilted her head. "If he was with one of you Mandos, I would have guessed the small, homicidal one."
"Me?" Tracyn blinked.
"That innocent face of yours doesn't mask the death you're shrouded in," Asajj noted calmly. "You're a stone-cold killer. I would know."
"If you think that of her, why'd you think Doran would be with her?" Even Willow was taken aback.
"Nothing," Asajj gestured dismissively, staring at Tracyn until the latter looked away. "Must have been reading too much into the Force."
"You said Doran was the one responsible for the explosion. But aren't Jintar and Twazzi with him?" Willow continued.
"Reach out with your senses, Jedi-brat," Asajj huffed, rolling her eyes. "If you're as close as you claim to be, you should be able to get a glimpse of the situation through his eyes."
"And you can get that glimpse?" Dinua arched an eyebrow.
"That brat knows Republic-era battle-melding techniques," Asajj confirmed. "I politely knocked on his mind and he let me get a glimpse of the situation."
The five infiltrators ascended to another level and continued their conversation.
"Can you teach me how to do that?"
"Believe me, kid," Asajj shook her head. "I'm one of the last people you want teaching you. I failed as both a Jedi and a Sith."
"You didn't answer her other question," Dinua spoke up, joining them again. "Why'd you say you thought he was with Gedyc?"
"He has a darkness in him," Asajj said coolly. "It's not as strong as the darkness blondie there carries, but it has the potential to get there. The main difference between blondie and him is that he's been conditioned to deny that part of him. She fully embraces it. But all it will take is one event, and snap…"
"And me?"
Asajj snorted. "Let me put it in terms you might understand. If you Mandos were Jedi and Sith. Blondie would be a Sith Lady, one of the crueler ones. You'd be a straight-laced Jedi like Kenobi. And one day, if the both of you survive that long, you'll meet each other and be forced to aim your weapon at one and other. Whatever happens after that is up to the Force."
Tracyn and Dinua glanced at each other on reflex, both seeing the doubt in each other's expressions. But also the truth in Asajj's words. It was a simple matter of one belonging to the Protectorate and one being the leader of the Kyr'tsad.
"Hey, Ventress. We're still a team at the moment. Can you get them to kill each other after this mission is over?" Latts called out. She had used their discussion to go ahead of them and was now on a landing above them. "We still have a Vong base to clear out."
"Don't worry. The Jedi boy and his friend saw two grounded Vong transports. There'll be plenty of targets left for us," Asajj grinned. She tilted her head at the younger women and then leaped on ahead after Latts.
"Well," Willow said softly as both Tracyn and Dinua continued to stare at one and other. "We should get moving. If Doran is by himself, who knows what trouble we'll need to get him out of."
Using Doran's name appeared to do the trick because both older teens shook themselves and nodded at Willow. They began to ascend once more, but this time, neither looked in the direction of the other. Willow saw this, glanced up at Asajj, and sighed. "Kriffing reformed Sith."
Ten minutes later, while the majority of the garrison was out at the front of the base chasing down the other group, they were all pulling themselves up onto the half-crater left behind by the meteorite impact. They were relatively hidden from view thanks to the large chunks of charred and shattered coral all around them, in addition to the bowl-shaped nature of the crater.
"What a mess," Latts whistled.
"We slammed a space rock into the base. What'd you expect?" Asajj deadpanned.
Their arrival didn't go unnoticed for long. A group of relatively glum Yuuzhan Vong warriors had been assigned the patrol at the back of the base rather than the glorious fight at the front and just so happened to round the ruined remains of the command building at that moment.
Asajj activated her lightsabers. One was blue, the other was red.
"Jeedai!"
The Rattatak, Dathomir-transplant was a blur as her sabers flashed in three quick strikes. When her figure could be seen with regular senses again, the patrol of six Yuuzhan Vong warriors collapsed to the ground sans heads. Asajj looked mildly annoyed as she deactivated her lightsaber. "There are other Force-users in the galaxy besides those people, you know."
"Ventress, they're dead," Latts pointed out in amusement.
"I was talking to the one that's trying to get the drop on me," Asajj cocked her head back at one of the larger pieces of coral.
Everyone looked up to see a Yuuzhan Vong about to throw his amphistaff freeze in place in surprise.
"Get over here," Latts called out. Her green grappling boa snapped out and snagged the warrior's legs. He had a moment to be surprised before the bounty hunter yanked him off his vantage point and slammed him into the ground.
"You can sense the Vong?" Willow gasped in surprise.
Asajj just smiled at the younger Force-user in a mysterious fashion. "If you want to think that, go ahead."
More footsteps could be heard rushing in their direction.
"I think we got their attention," Tracyn said, coolly drawing out two blaster pistols.
"Now the fun starts," Dinua agreed, shouldering a blaster rifle.
"We need to talk about the definition for 'fun' later," Willow said wryly. She didn't have a lightsaber, but she did have a plasma carbine that the Bane Consortium had loaned her.
"I feel like we've had that conversation with Doran before," Tracyn quipped to Dinua, still not looking in the dark-haired teen's direction.
"Let's just stay focused on the mission," Dinua answered back emotionlessly.
"Nah ah," Latts shook a finger at the trio. "You girls be good and wait here. It's the grown-up's turn to party."
"Actually, you should probably take this moment to go find whoever's boyfriend the Jedi boy is," Asajj corrected. She tapped her head. "He's in a tight space right now and could probably use your firepower."
"But what about you two?" Willow asked, looking torn.
The first wave of Yuuzhan Vong warriors charged around the corner of the debris. Asajj's sabers snapped to life and she proceeded to pounce on them like a jumping spider. The few that did make it past Asajj ran into the razor-sharp grappling whip that flashed through the air and dismembered limbs two at a time.
"Never mind," Willow muttered.
Latts activated a smoke grenade and threw it at the ground at their feet. The device went off and shrouded everyone in a pink cloud. The young trio used that opportunity to break away from the rapidly expanding brawl.
"Which way?" Dinua asked Willow as they climbed out of the crater.
Willow closed her eyes and tugged on the Force-bond she shared with Doran. "That way…I think."
A coralline building in the direction she was pointing erupted in a dramatic fireball.
Tracyn, Dinua, and Willow all shared a wry look. "That's definitely the way."
FtF VII FtF
Doran had watched the sizable garrison, plus reinforcements, rush out the hole he had made in the wall, all the while keeping himself crouched down behind a large shard of coral. The base hadn't been completely emptied, however. He estimated there were still several dozen warriors milling about, all looking depressed for missing out on the thunderous battle that was unfolding. Doran couldn't blame them. The shouts, explosions, and sounds of various weaponry going off was like a kid on a time-out listening to all his friends have fun outside.
For good or bad, the building with the non-Yuuzhan Vong Force-signatures in it had a single warrior standing at the entrance. It was a simple, one story, round structure that was more akin to a purple and orange shack than anything else. The poor warrior looked absolutely miserable with his baby-sitting duties and had even turned to gaze off at the distant fight. Doran snuck by the distracted warrior, pushing through the thin membrane that served as the building's door.
Once his eyes adjusted to the relative dark insides of the shed, he was taken aback. Six pairs of eyes were staring at him, and three of them widened in gradual recognition.
"Master!?" One of the slaves inside said in disbelief. She had Yuuzhan Vong slave-coral growing out around her neck, but it didn't stop her from scrambling to her feet.
"Greenie?!" Doran was now a believer of the Force more than ever. Of the six slaves in the room, he had previously freed three of them.
"It is you!" The enslaved, once peppy Mirialan tween promptly launched herself into his arms in a fierce hug.
Doran's arms automatically went around her, and he looked to the purple Twi'lek and dark-skinned human girl in confusion. "How did you end up in the hands of the Vong? And what happened to that little Zeltron girl?"
"Raxi was taken in by the Jedi Order," the purple Twi'lek he had 'bought' then freed on Sleheyron answered, rising to her feet, tears in her eyes. "We were taken to a refugee camp, but the planet was hit by the Vong and we had no way to escape. Almost everyone else you freed that day…"
"Those that weren't sacrificed in a ritual were given out to the warriors for slave-labor," the human girl continued, placing a hand on the Twi'lek's shoulders. "The three of us were given to a Vong who has this weird fetish of trying to do the things the people in this galaxy would do."
"Huh?"
"All of us are girls," the Mirialan in his arms piped up. Doran looked at the other slaves and realized that was the truth. The fact that all the slaves were female made him want to curse out Dor'ahn Lah's lack of intelligence even further.
"Why?"
"It's because he read that male slavers in this galaxy only take on female slaves. He makes us serve him his food, clean his place, other stupid things like that because he thinks that what slavers use their female slaves for."
Doran's eyebrows shot up. He was well-traveled enough to know that the list of chores listed barely scratched the surface. He also noted that all of them were dressed in rags. "Then…"
"The Force has to be with us," the Mirialan muttered, hugging Doran again. "He told us that he has no interest in our bodies. Only wants us to do work for him."
"Apparently we're too soft to turn him on," the human teen added. "We're only dressed like this because he read that slavers don't waste money on clothes for their slaves."
"He really needs to stop looking at the HoloNet for the latest in slaver habits," Doran grumbled.
"If you're here, does that mean you're here to rescue us again?"
"Yeah," Doran patted the Mirialan's back. "I have a group of…friends…shooting Vong up outside. We can use that distraction to get away."
No sooner had Doran said that, a gruff Yuuzhan Vong voice sounded from outside the building. The warrior at the front of the building immediately responded in kind. Doran, having no blaster and only a single brick of explosive left, glanced about the room. He knew he was in a tight spot.
It was then, a much closer din of explosions and shouts sounded through the camp. Doran knew that was the sign that the all-girl team had engaged the remaining warriors within the base. The teenage Jedi felt Asajj Ventress once again tap his brain, and he updated her on his current, in-poodoo situation. As he did, a plan formed in his mind.
"All of you, go to that wall," Doran gestured to the wall furthest from the door. He placed the brick of explosive right at the entrance of the shack and stuck a primer into it. He then hurried over to the far end of the building. Summoning every ounce of Force energy he could, he did his best to create a protective bubble around the slaves and brought out the detonator.
A Yuuzhan Vong wearing the usual vonduun crab-armor stepped in. The amusing part was that the crab-armor was emblazoned with a skull-and-crossbones that was decidedly non-Yuuzhan Vong in design. The warrior was also equipped with an eyepatch that barely hid the vertical scar that ran across one eye, and actually had a blaster attached to a non-organic utility belt. He wore Yuuzhan Vong clothing as pants, but they had Corellian bloodstripes on them. Then, sounding very much like a stereotypical villain, the warrior called out in Basic. "Where are you my pets? We're leaving!"
The warrior pulled out the biot that controlled the slave-coral embedded within the terrified six women. Doran didn't know if they'd die if the biot was destroyed so he once again had to scrap his plans. Rather than shield the slaves with his body, he turned around, let out the loudest, most intimidating yell he could muster, and charged the startled warrior. Doran struck out with one hand, punching the device out of the warrior's grip. He grabbed it from the air and pulled it to him before throwing himself into the direction of the slaves.
As he did, the warrior recovered and drew a coufee. The Yuuzhan Vong took one step forwards towards Doran and the others, then stopped. He realized that he had stepped on something that wasn't the smooth surface of the stunted damutek they were in. Lifting his foot, he looked down at the smooshed lump of clay-like material with a blinking device sticking out of it.
Doran pressed the detonator.
The resulting blast blew apart the coralline building and nearly had Doran blackout from the strain of sheltering the six slaves from the shockwave. They all managed to survive, only just. But now that the building was gone, Doran realized that he and the girls were now surrounded by over a dozen Yuuzhan Vong.
"Hi?" Doran tried, his ears ringing.
The warriors, all who had been rushing to join the fight in the crater of the command damutek just stared blankly at Doran's blast-ravaged state and the terrified girls. Before the Yuuzhan Vong could come to their senses, a deafening volley of plasma and laser fire sliced through the air above them. The bemused warriors were cut down one after another as a trio of teenage girls charged across the base with their guns blazing. Doran and the others had instinctively closed their eyes at the dazzling light show and loud sounds, and when they opened them again, all the warriors were dead.
There were also three teens striking unintentionally heroic poses standing amid the rubble of the surrounding area. For the six slave girls, their saviors looked like everything they'd aspire to be, and their eyes shined worshipfully.
"Where would you be without us, Di'kut?" Dinua sighed.
"We leave you alone for an hour and you end up on top of yet another girl," Willow said in amusement. Doran realized he was lying on top of Greenie and the dark-skinned human teen and rolled off of them in a flash, casting a nervous look at Dinua.
"Speaking of, they look familiar," Tracyn said, now that she could fully see the two.
"Sleheyron." Doran said tiredly, his adrenaline leaving his system.
"You're kidding," Tracyn glanced at the three she recognized. "You're not."
"The Force is just like that sometimes," Doran laughed weakly. He held out the control-device for the slave-coral. "Can one of you keep this safe until we have the New Republic doctors remove the coral? I think I'm going to pass out."
"I'll do it," Dinua squatted down next to him and took the device. "Are you okay?"
"I don't get why my dad likes explosives so much," Doran mumbled, his body sore from enduring the pressure wave. He had put most of his effort into shielding the six women and what little he did use for himself only prevented serious injury. Right now he felt like a steamroller had gone over his entire body.
"You're supposed to be outside the blast radius when you use explosives," Dinua deadpanned.
"So that's what I did wrong," Doran offered Dinua a weak smile to reassure her. He called upon his limited Force reserves to stay conscious. "How'd your part of the plan go?"
At Doran's reminder, Dinua, Tracyn, and Willow all glanced back towards the crater where everything had become eerily quiet. Doran also noticed that the battle at the front of the base had likewise died off completely.
Tracyn was hesitant as she answered. "I think it worked out."
"Do you know how Skirata is?" Dinua asked, remembering that the older Mandalorian teen wasn't with Doran.
"He and Twazzi joined Cad's group. But he's not Force-sensitive, so I'm not sure." Doran answered. Dinua and Willow both helped him to his feet by taking one arm each. "He'll be at the front of the base."
"Let's check on Asajj and Latts first, they're the closest," Tracyn reasoned.
"Asajj is still alive, so is Latts," Doran said almost immediately after her suggestion. He tapped his head in response to the questioning tilt of her head.
"Handy thing that Force," Tracyn quipped.
"Now you know why I sucked at not using it when I first arrived at Gargon," Doran chuckled.
The group didn't have to go anywhere, however, because they saw a lone figure climb through the ruins of the wall. The angle of the sun allowed them all to see that he was the one they were looking for.
"Hey, Skirata!" Dinua called out in welcome.
They waited for Jintar to reach their location. In that time, both Latts and Asajj made their appearance as well. Asajj was covered in dust but was unscathed from the brawl and supporting a maimed Theelin. Latts was missing an arm and leg, but the cauterization of her wounds indicated that it had been a lightsaber that amputated the limb.
"Latts? What happened?" Willow asked.
"Their stupid snake staffs have a very nasty venom," Latts grimaced. "If Asajj hadn't moved as fast as she did, I'd have bit the dust."
For her part, the Rattataki eyed the non-combatants. "How is it that you Jedi can't go anywhere without finding people to rescue?"
"I'd like to know that too," Doran said wryly. Without anything threatening his life, he had taken a seat on a piece of coral and was currently supporting a sleeping Mirialan and Twi'lek on either side of him while the dark-skinned human teen slept leaning against one of his legs.
Jintar joined the rest a few minutes later, but his face was grim.
"Jintar?" Doran asked.
"The others?" Latts' expression dimmed as if already guessing the answer.
"Aside from the Mandalorian, everyone else went out like they always wanted to," Jintar answered, his gaze distant and his demeanor stiff. "They can definitely hold their heads up high to whoever they meet in their long march."
Everyone else bowed their heads and took a moment of silence.
"What now?" Willow asked when the moment passed.
"The job's done. Latts and I will go our separate ways," Asajj shrugged. "You go yours. And the galaxy continues to spin."
"Just like that?"
"You expecting a parade? Medals?"
"No, it's just…" Willow was at a loss for words as she took in the Yuuzhan Vong corpses that littered the base.
"This is what war is," Asajj said, her voice almost gentle. "Learn to live with it. I had to. If you can't, you'll end up just like these Vong."
The almost thirteen year old girl swallowed heavily. "This is what's happening on Lothal right now. What my family is facing."
"What families and planets across the galaxy are facing," Asajj corrected. "I grew up knowing only war. It consumed me and was nearly the end of me."
"How'd you survive?" Willow looked to Asajj almost pleadingly.
Asajj started to answer the youngest in the group, but then saw the others teens looking to her as well. She let out a small laugh of disbelief and gazed in the direction of the setting sun. "Who's to say I did? My heart, my mind, my body, they fought without truly knowing why. No. That's not entirely true. They fought because they just wanted to survive. Because I just wanted to survive. Dark side, light side, none of that truly mattered to me back then. The galaxy seemed like it was burning and I was doing everything I could to keep myself from burning with it. At the very end of it, I was spent. I had nothing left to give to the war because it had taken almost everything. Because I had let it take almost everything. From a certain point of view, I did die back in that war, and the me you see now is everything the young me rejected."
The teens stayed quiet at her musings.
Asajj seemed to realize she was rambling and shook herself. "I don't have any sage words of wisdom for you kids. Nor do I have any words of reassurance or comfort. The Clone Wars screwed the heck out of me and I'm the last person you should be going to for advice on how to stay sane in war."
"Can I ask why you took this job then?" Doran asked hesitantly.
Asajj smirked an almost Sith-like smirk. "I owed Cad a favor."
"That's it?"
"He was the one who helped me stay off the Empire's radar after I faked my death. He figured that having a formerly psychotic Lady of the Sith owe him one was a good thing to have during the Emperor's reign."
"Then what are you going to do now? Are you going to keep fighting the Vongese?"
Asajj shook her head. "I still have to clear my debt to Cad. I'll be sticking around the Consortium for a while, doing my best to make sure his family makes it out of this war."
"The same," Latts added her two credits in. "Just as soon as I use some of my fifty-million pay off for the best prosthetics credits can buy."
"Be proud. You're probably the only person in the galaxy to still live after being dismembered by my lightsabers," Asajj said with dark humor as she remotely called her ship.
"I'll go keep my severed limbs in a trophy case then," Latts quipped without any real pep.
"It's really over?" Willow repeated as if still trying to wrap her head around that fact. She looked at the other teens for confirmation. "We've stopped the Bane Consortium from killing Doran and the Mando leaders and got rid of the Yuuzhan Vong commander who was after Doran and hurt Hera?"
"Yeah," Doran breathed out. He suddenly felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But with that relief came a realization. He had less than a week left in his stay with the Mandalorians. Why was it that when one was running for their life, time slowed to a crawl, but immediately after the danger was over, time went by much too fast? He turned his gaze to his friends and felt a lump in his throat.
Despite all the craziness of the past year, he found himself not wanting to go.
FtF VIII FtF
"Okay, I'll swing by in three days to pick you up. I'm glad you're safe. Love you!"
"Love you too, mom," Doran answered automatically, mechanically reaching up to end the call. He was back on Mandalore at the Clan Rook farmstead. The sound of drunken Mandalorians partying continued on in the background. The six girls he had saved had strangely enough opted to stay on Mandalore, and Boba Fett had personally taken them to Keldabe to find them a clan willing to take them in.
"Your call to your mom go okay?" Jintar asked. Ever since the fight on that unnamed planet, the olive-skinned teen had been withdrawn and much quieter than normal. In fact, even though the partying going on outside was a quintessential Mandalorian show of revelry, Jintar had passed on everything.
"Yeah. She'll be by in three days," Doran tried to smile, but his heart wasn't into the act. He knew that he should say some words to help Jintar, but at the same time was too lost in his own feelings to muster up the effort. "And then I'll finally leave Mandalorian space."
"Good for you," Jintar said, sounding just as distant as Doran. The two walked away from the communication's building and headed for the outer perimeter of the farmstead.
A part of Clan Rook's rowdy celebration came from their victory over the Yuuzhan Vong. But the largest factor was the fact that Mandalore, Boba Fett himself, had acknowledged the clan's contributions in the matter. Of course, since the Mandalorians were technically on the side of the Yuuzhan Vong, no official award could be given. But support and praise of someone of Boba Fett's status went a long way to restoring the tattered reputation of the down-and-out clan.
"What are you and Dinua going to do after this?" Doran asked Jintar, absently gazing about the thick jungle foliage.
"Jeban wants to sign up for the Or'ramikade," Jintar answered. "We've already done most of the basic requirements to get in to their training camp. And thanks to you, we have more than enough field-experience under our belts. If you're going to go become a super-Jedi, then the only way we'd be able to keep up with you is by joining the jatnese be te jatnese. What about you?"
"I guess I'll go wherever mom takes us next," Doran shrugged. "Maybe stop by Yavin so I can tell Fish-Girl some modified versions of my times here."
"'Modified'?"
"She's still a kid at heart," Doran muttered softly. "There's no way I'll tell her about all the details. Especially the ones for this last adventure. I'll probably make a few things up. Reality is less believable than fantasy sometimes."
"I hear you," Jintar sighed.
The sun began sinking below the tree-line, causing the sky to glow in a beautiful array of colors.
"Doran. You be careful out there, okay?" Jintar spoke after several minutes of walking in silence. "You won't have Jeban and I to pull your shebs out of the fire."
"I will. Can you look after Willow for me?"
"I think the Kyr'tsadika has taken a liking to her, but I will."
"Thanks. Look after Dinua too."
"She'd kick my shebs if I tried to."
"You know what I mean." Doran felt melancholy.
"Yeah."
They heard more blaster fire emanate from the Rook farmstead and Doran couldn't help but roll his eyes. "How long do you Mandos party for anyways? They've been going at it ever since we got back this morning."
"Depends on how much tihaar they have," Jintar snorted. "As long as there's booze and ammo, there's reason to party."
"And you're not partying with them? I'd have thought with a family like yours…"
"Not in the mood," Jintar interrupted Doran. The older teen then gazed off at the sky as stars started to appear. "Do you think Cad and the others died good deaths?"
"Is there such thing?" Doran asked.
"They went into the mission fully expecting to die. Wishing for death," Jintar murmured. "Cad died with a smile on his face, you know."
Doran said nothing at that.
"It got me thinking," Jintar murmured. "If it ever becomes my turn to join the rest of my unnamed uncles on that long march, will I have a reason to smile? This war is only just beginning. For the Or'ramikade, being on the frontlines is a given. How many more heroes of old are going to fall before the war ends? How many more friends and acquaintances will I lose before the Vongese be defeated?"
"Would you like to hear a completely unhelpful Jedi view of that?"
Jintar's eyebrows rose but the teen nodded. "Better than my own views alone."
"Some Jedi Masters would say that the future is always in motion. That even for those of us who can see the future, no event is set in stone. The only thing that is certain is how we'll react when the time comes," Doran recited softly. His mind went over the many words of wisdom he had collected in his travels. Talking with hidden Force-sects and survivors of the Purge had given the young teen a vast array of experiences to draw from. "Those who worry about the future neglect the present, and those who neglect the present cause the very future they worry about. It's one of the reasons why those who rely on prophecies and visions of the future almost always bring about their own downfall."
"And can you translate all that for a dumb Mando like me?" Jintar chuckled wryly.
"I think the Mandalorians have a single word for all that," a mischievous glint flitted in his eyes. "K'atini."
"Mir'sheb," Jintar slugged Doran's arm none-too-gently.
"Hey, if all Jedi Masters just told the Jedi who were worried about the future to suck it up and live in the present, it would save the Order a heck of a lot of frustration," Doran retorted, rubbing the assaulted arm.
"And if all Mandalorian commanders just spouted that drivel you told me to their men, they'd either cause a mutiny or the deaths of all their men."
"What?"
"They'd all be confused about what the heck you just said, and when the blasterbolts start to fly, they'd still be thinking about that. Distracted soldiers are dead soldiers."
"All they have to do is just do what we younger generation of Jedi do."
"And what's that?"
"We nod, pretend we understand what was just said, and then ignore whatever the heck the master just said."
"That explains how you can handle all those mirsh'kyramude in your Order."
"Brain-assassins?" Doran translated with a blink.
"Boring people," Jintar clarified the colloquialism.
Doran and Jintar couldn't help but snort at the description.
"Looks like both the Jedi Order and Mandalorians encourage internalizing any emotional conflict," Doran said, recovering from his laughter.
"We Mandos are taught to blast things to get rid of that conflict. You Jedi have to keep it in until you become emotionally constipated and have to let everything out at once. When that happens, you cause a big stink."
"Yeah, well… Just then Doran felt a small surge of panic in the Force, and then nothing. His head whipped around to glance back at the farmstead in confusion.
"What happened?" Jintar asked.
"Willow. She was knocked unconscious." Doran stretched his senses out across the farmstead.
"Jeban and Gedyc?"
"Not connected to them like that," Doran said, not for the first time wishing he could feel them the way he could feel other Jedi.
Jintar pulled out his comlink. "Jeban, Kyr'tsadika, either of you there?"
Complete silence answered.
"I should have expected you couldn't even have three normal days in Mando space," Jintar grumbled as he and Doran started running back towards the farmstead.
They were drawn up short when a single figure headed in their direction. Flew was more accurate. The figure approaching them was a familiar Toydarian arms-dealer.
"Quito?" Doran's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. He then remembered that Dinua had called in the arms-dealer to help supply weapons to Clan Rook during the rebuilding phase of their plan.
"Jedi, thank the Force you're here," the Toydarian let out several wheezing gasps as he flopped down onto the ground in front of Jintar and Doran.
"Quito, where's Dinua Jeban?" Jintar growled, hoisting the Toydarian up by the blue-man's jacket collar.
"That's what I'm here about!" the Toydarian's wings beat frantically as his small hands tried to pry himself free to no avail.
"Talk!"
"It was that Mandalorian. I didn't have anything to do with it this time," the Toydarian babbled. "That Mando and some of the others ambushed Jeban and the blonde girl. I saw it!"
"Wait a minute, which Mando?" Doran said, wondering if Chekar had returned. "This planet is full of them."
"The Mando leader that Jeban wanted me to help," Quito squawked. "She invited Jeban and the blonde girl out back. I was behind a stack of wood nearby counting my credits. Suddenly the Mando-leader signals to her men and blam, stun bolts hit Jeban and the other girl."
"What about Willow?" Doran said with as much calm as he could. Though Willow was unconscious, the fact that she was still alive alleviated some of his anxiety.
"Where are they now?" Jintar asked at the same time.
"I don't know," Quito shook his head to the both of them. "When the stun-bolts started flying, I didn't stick around. You know I don't like getting involved in things that are none of my business."
"Why did you come to us then?"
Quito gulped almost comically. "Because Jeban's fathers promised to turn me into a taxidermied trophy mount in their office if I let anything happen to her."
The sound of a starship engine starting up filled the air, shortly followed by a small freighter taking off from the opposite side of the farmstead. Rather than ascend, however, it flew over the farmstead at a low altitude and even stopped above where Doran, Jintar, and Quito were.
The comlink Jintar was holding squawked on. "Jedi Sarkin-Tainer, I declare Akaanir be'Haran. Meet me where it all began and the grudge between Clan Rook and your aliit will be settled once and for all."
The ship then rocketed upwards and disappeared into the darkening night sky.
Doran and Jintar glanced at one and other, exasperation and worry plain on both their faces.
"Jintar."
"I know. You don't have to say it."
"You Mandalorians can be really stupid sometimes." Doran could only rub at his forehead. Here I go again.
FtF Chapter End FtF
A\N: One chapter left….I think…almost done, almost done, almost done…. Like the previous chapter, just did a twice over so please let me know if there are any unforgivable errors and I'll try to fix them.
