Hello Kids!
Look at us! We're almost done! Just three more chapters, the Epilogue, and then a bonus 'Outtake' chapter I've never posted anywhere else.
Thank you all for hanging in there and for all of your awesome comments and support. It's helped immensely with getting the creative juices flowing again. Barring any catastrophe, 'Bonus' Chapter will go up on April 17th, then I'm taking a couple of weeks off because Beta Boy has earned some PTO - or TO - It's not like I'm paying him.
BY THE WAY - Can I get a big round of applause for Beta Boy?! Man has been a rock.
I'm planning to begin posting Fear and Love on May 1st, with twice weekly updates. So run over to that board and subscribe if you haven't already.
PP
Chapter 25
First Things First
30 ABY
Occupied Coruscant/Yuuzhan'tar
2.5 years after the 'Fall of Coruscant'
Anakin watched as Hal and Tron made their way through the roughly two hundred beings gathered in the Shamed Ones' makeshift meeting hall. It was already a tight squeeze, the two were turning their bodies sideways to shoulder their way through the crowd to make their way back to where the team was gathered, near the front of the room.
When Hal reached Anakin's side he bowed slightly, still more reverentially then Anakin was comfortable with, but the two had finally stopped with the 'domain' part of his name every time they greeted him, or tried to get his attention. They'd also refrained from calling him the 'Jeedai Who Stood With Vua Rauung' for over a day now, though Anakin suspected it had less to do with Hal and Tron lightening up and more to do with the fact that Anakin could say 'what?' before they got to the 'Stood With' part of the salutation.
Their Basic had also gotten markedly better.
Hal straightened from his bow quickly and met Anakin's gaze, then launched quickly into his report.
"We were able to find another hundred crèche brothers and sisters. They are bringing more of our own here now. They are also looking for the Prophet, to bring him to hear your mate. They believe it will take close to your standard hour. Can Tahiri Velia wait that long before she begins to speak?"
Anakin grimaced, then looked over at his wife, who was grimacing too.
Tahiri was being partly shielded by the rest of the team, shielded from the ever growing crowd of Yuuzhan Vong, hidden from view while Face put the finishing touches on her makeup. The three vertical 'scars' Face was adhering to her forehead weren't exactly like the one's Tahiri had had removed shortly after Will's birth, but they were close enough that none of the Yuuzhan Vong she was about to show them to would know the difference. That was all that mattered.
Tahiri had heard Hal's comment about the 'Prophet'.
"No," Anakin finally told Hal, "we need to start sooner. We'll have to fill the Prophet in on what's happening later."
Anakin and Tahiri had hoped they'd be able to pull this all off while avoiding Nom Anor, though they'd both known it was a long shot; a really, really long shot. The best they could hope for now was that plan 'B' would work; that Tahiri could get up on the rock they'd picked for her to stand on and that she'd get her speech out before Nom Anor had actually gotten himself here.
Of course there was also Plan 'C'.
Plan 'C' was to tell Mara that the Prophet was actually Nom Anor and let her have her way with him. As usual, they'd use the old 'according to Tahiri's sources' excuse to explain how they knew or suspected that Nom Anor was the 'Prophet' and let the chips fall where they may. If Luke didn't step in and try to temper Mara's temper, she just might be able to dispatch the 'Prophet' for them and he would cease to be an issue. If not, Anakin hoped that Mara stayed true to form and kept an eye on him - and jumped really fast if Nom Anor did anything even slightly suspicious.
Turning back to Hal, Anakin said, "I'm going to fill the team in and we'll get started," then signaled to everyone that he needed to brief them. When they were all together he kneeled down and used a stick he'd picked up and drew a rough circle in the dirt to indicate the basic layout of the Sacred Precinct and where the various targets were located and started explaining the plan.
"Okay, our time is up. The GA is going to start their initial attack in space in about four hours. If they're successful, that gives us about six hours to get to the Sacred Precinct, so we don't have a lot of wiggle room. Hal has just informed me that more Shamed Ones are on the way, but we can't wait for them. Tahiri is going to have to start now and anyone who isn't here is going to have to get the story from their friends as we make our way in. If we're lucky, the information will translate well and the newcomers will attack the right people…"
"If we're lucky?" Jaina asked, sounding a little horrified.
Anakin laughed gently, and put a hand on her arm. "I'm kidding Jaya, the information will translate. All the shamed ones joining us will know who to fight." Satisfied that his sister was satisfied, Anakin turned back to the group, "I've also just been told that the Prophet is on his way here now."
"Who's the Prophet?" Jaina asked, her horror turning to confusion.
"A Shamed One," Anakin explained, "recently shamed, a self appointed leader who has done a lot to see that the Jeedai heresy story has spread throughout Yuuzhan'tar."
"So he's on our side?" Jaina now sounded relieved, and Anakin almost hated to burst her bubble, especially since he knew that her next expression was going to be 'incredulous'.
If Mara didn't beat her to it.
"He'd like us to believe that, but we think he's actually Nom Anor, which means…"
"Nom Anor?" Mara asked, incredulous.
Anakin turned to his aunt and smiled, "Exactly, which is why we can only imagine that his motives are self-serving, or that he's a plant put in place by the higher ups. Either way, not to be trusted, which is why Tahiri needs to go on now. I'd like to get this show going before he gets here. If we can keep him somewhat isolated, maybe we can keep him from informing anyone else of what we're trying to do."
Anakin looked from his aunt to his sister, made sure they were both mollified, and wondered at his good fortune that his brother and uncle had remained quiet, then took a quick breath and went on.
"Since we've had to modify our plan of attack anyway because of the World Brain issue, I've decided to totally restructure it; we're breaking up into three teams instead of two. Team One is going to be Jacen, Tahiri, Huane and a group of shamed ones. They are going to take a route that leads them from here to the World Brain in a circular path."
Anakin drew a line from the point in the dirt that indicated where they currently were, to the Well of the World Brain, what had once been the New Republic Senate Building.
Looking up at his wife and brother he instructed, "Use every weapon you have. Destroy. Obliterate. Annihilate. Demolish. Don't be afraid to throw everything you brought with you and anything you can get your hands on. If something moves along this path; torch it, shoot it, crush it, tear it down."
Anakin knew that Tahiri would have no problem with his orders; his wife had never had an issue with destruction if she could justify the necessity. And here, she would have no problem justifying it; in Tahiri's mind ending the war was the only way to ensure Will's safety, and succeeding on this mission was the only way of ending this war. Jacen was the one Anakin was worried about, but, as with the shifting in the colors that surrounded Jacen, and with his behavior on this trip so far, with what he'd done to get Tahiri alone and the talk they'd had… clearly there were changes taking place within Jacen, and Anakin had to believe, was choosing to believe that Jacen was making choices that were for the good of the mission, were for the good of their family. Because of all of those things Anakin was also choosing to believe that he was not making a mistake in trusting Jacen to keep Tahiri safe. And really, it was the only choice he had.
"Now," Anakin continued, "the only way to get into the World Brain is the front entrance of the Senate Building. All of the other entrances to the building have been cut off by vongformed barriers. There is a very real possibility that you guys may not make it inside to deliver Huane's poison. But, you may be able to create enough of a diversion that Team Two will still be able to scale the Citadel to wire the ship without being seen or stopped."
Anakin looked around at all the faces, made sure that everyone was with him and then kept going.
"Okay, Team Two is Luke, Face, Kell, Tron and me. We'll go in the opposite direction from Team One." He made another line, again rounded, that ended at the back of the Citadel. "We'll have all the same weapons, plus the explosives for the escape ship, and our own group of Shamed Ones, but we won't be making quite as much noise"
Kell raised his hand and when Anakin nodded to him he asked, "Can I go with Team One? It sounds like they're going to have more fun."
Anakin shook his head as several in the group chuckled, then looked down at his drawing in the dirt and made a third line, this one straight from the location they were at to the Sacred Precinct.
"Mara, you and Jaina will lead Team Three. You'll be taking Hal, and the majority of the shamed ones. Well make a general announcement to the crowd to follow you, then we'll hand pick individuals to go with the smaller teams and tell them quietly that they'll be with us. This should keep teams One and Two safe and our missions from being widely known by all the other shamed ones."
"Which means Non Anor won't be able to tell anyone where you are or what you're actually doing because the shamed ones with us won't have heard what you pulled your teams away for." Jaina concluded.
"That's what I'm hoping," Anakin sighed. "Of course, with groups this big, there's always room for mistakes, and we can't exactly pat them all down for villips and stuff. We have to trust them. And, I may just be being paranoid. The Prophet may not be Nom Anor… or may not show up," Anakin looked back to Mara, "but if he does, and if he so much as sneezes…"
"I'll do what I think is best," Mara finished for him.
"Mara…" Luke gave his wife a warning look and Anakin wanted to laugh at the look she gave him back.
"I can take care of the situation without getting angry," Mara told Luke, with utter calm, though Anakin suspected she felt anything but calm. Given what she'd been subjected to at the hands of Nom Anor, what she'd nearly lost, he could hardly blame her.
"Mara knows what to do," Anakin soothed, then he turned back to face his aunt. "Just keep your group focused on the middle ground. You're going to be marching up the center while the other teams are coming up the flanks. The longer we can keep Nom Anor in the dark… the happier I'll be. He's going to know the rest of us are here somewhere, but I'd like him to not know exactly what it is we're actually doing."
"Understood."
"Alright, any last-minute comments before I throw my wife to the vornskrs?"
"Anakin…" Tahiri gave him a look that made Anakin feel even more guilty than he was already feeling. Somehow, in trying to avoid using her as bait, he'd ended up doing that very thing, numerous times it felt like, on this trip, and he hated himself for it.
"Anyone else having anything to say?"
When the rest of the team just shook their heads, Anakin nodded his own. "Alright. Give us a minute and then we'll get started." He grabbed Tahiri's hand and pulled her up, then pulled her aside as everyone else stepped away and allowed the couple a moment alone.
Anakin wrapped his arms around Tahiri, laying his cheek on her head for a second before pulling back. "You sure you're ready for this?"
Tahiri looked up and smiled sweetly. "To incite a riot and instigate what promises to be the biggest, baddest battle in this war for galactic domination?"
Anakin closed his eyes and blew out a resigned breath. "I'm glad to see you're not trying to downplay this."
"Me? Never."
"I'm serious."
"Anakin, we've been over this a dozen times, and we don't really have a choice, given that we're already here. It's not like I can back out and catch a ride home at this point."
"I could shove you into a bush somewhere and come back for you when this is over."
Tahiri laughed lightly. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try. Especially since a few dozen Yuuzhan Vong are already pointing at the freakish looking yellow haired infidel. I think I've probably already been recognized, and if not, they'll figure it out as soon as I utter the first words in their language. So, sorry, but I'm not going anywhere Hero Boy. You're stuck with me."
Anakin pressed his lips to her forehead then whispered, "Don't listen to them, you're not that freakish looking."
"Ah, that's the most romantic thing you've said to me in ages."
Anakin leaned further down and rested his head on her shoulder and pressed his lips lightly against her neck before saying, "I told you I can be romantic."
Tahiri giggled softly. "I don't give you enough credit."
"You really don't. And if we manage to survive today, I will take you on that honeymoon I've always promised you."
"Really?"
"Really really. "
"Like a vacation type honeymoon?"
"Yeah, to a hotel."
"With room service?"
"And a beach, and even babysitting."
"We wouldn't need to take a fully armed nanny or a commando squad to watch over our son?"
"Or weapons."
"Wow… you really know how to woo a girl."
"I've been planning it for ages. Now off with you. Go incite your riot. Rile the masses, make me proud."
"Show the universe that I deserve to carry the Solo name, if only by marriage?"
"Oh, you're a Solo alright, even if you still refuse to let me call you Mrs. Solo when anyone else is around."
"Maybe if we do survive this I'll let you have your way, change my name legally and everything."
"You're such a tease."
Jacen watched Tahiri jump up onto the rock she'd picked to speak from, then walked over to stand beside Anakin.
"You okay?"
Anakin breathed out a heavy sigh. "Yeah… no."
"She'll be okay. We'll keep her safe."
Anakin let out another breath and Jacen tried to imagine how hard this must be for his brother, and realized that he couldn't. He'd never had a Tahiri.
Not that he'd ever want a Tahiri.
Stars… Even with all the talking and getting things out and reaching an understanding and putting the past behind them, Jacen still wasn't quite sure how Anakin put up with her. She was incredibly opinionated... and stubborn... and bossy.
His brother certainly loved her though, practically worshipped her, and didn't seem at all bothered by her incredibly annoying personality characteristics. Of course, Tahiri didn't seem at all bothered by Anakin's incredibly annoying personality characteristics either, so Jacen had been right when he'd told Tahiri that she and his brother were a match made in Hell.
What was that old Corellian saying about couples? The Gods make them and they find each other?
Now though, Jacen could tell by the pained look on Anakin's face that letting go of his wife's hand and watching her leap up onto that rock to stand in front of a crowd that had grown to somewhere in the neighborhood of three hundred Yuuzhan Vong maybe the hardest thing Anakin had ever done in his life, because, despite what Jacen had just said, there was no way that they, or even Luke, stood a chance of keeping Tahiri safe if this growing group of Vong decided that they'd like to see her in six, or seven, or fifteen pieces.
But he figured that probably wasn't a wise thing to say to Anakin right now.
As Tahiri began to speak, she instantly got the attention of the Vong gathered near her, and Jacen leaned into Anakin to ask what she'd said.
Anakin rolled his eyes. "If I could understand a word coming out of her mouth do you think she'd be here?"
Jacen was about to agree that Anakin had a good point when Huane stepped up and gently placed a hand on Jacen's forearm, then whispered, "She said that she knows that they have heard of the Jeedai heresy, that the Jeedai are not to be feared, but are the key to their salvation."
Tahiri spoke again, drawing on the Force to amplify her voice, to carry it further out into the room, but the crowd was already buzzing, and even without being able to touch the aliens with the Force, Jacen could practically feel the Vong come alive with excitement and anticipation.
He placed his hand over Huane's, internally chastising himself when he registered that he'd allowed his fingers to thread into hers where they still rested on his arm, then pulled them back and asked, "Now what…" but she cut him off, beginning to translate - verbatim - Jacen assumed, as Tahiri continued to speak.
"You have also heard rumors that you are not cursed... that you are not damned... that you are not Shamed. I am here to tell you that that is true. You are not held in disfavor. The Gods do not hate you. The only beings who hate you are the warriors and the priests and the shapers. It is they who hold you down and refuse you honor. My comrades and I are here to help you throw off the yoke of slavery."
As Tahiri continued, Huane continued, and Jacen felt the crowd's excitement grow.
"I can hear you asking how an infidel can speak the tongue of the Gods. I can hear you asking who I am. I am one of the Jeedai you have heard stories about. I am Tahiri Veila. I am the Jeedai Who Was Shaped."
Jacen watched the crowd in fascination as Tahiri lifted her bangs to show her scars, and with her other hand lifted her lightsaber and ignited her blade. Cries and shouts began to ring out as first the Yuuzhan Vong standing close recognized who she was, then the others, those standing further away, unable to see, but able to hear what the others were saying, realized what was happening. The buzz Jacen could feel grew stronger, more pronounced, as the shamed ones hopes grew. It was clear they could feel that something important was taking place.
"With me here today are more Jeedai, more Jeedai who want to help you find honor and defeat those who have held you down."
Tahiri waved her hand towards the team, drawing the attention of the mass of beings towards the Jedi.
"Standing before you is the leader of all Jeedai, Master Luke Skywalker, his mate, Mara Jade Skywalker, the Jeedai twins, Jaina and Jacen Solo, and the Jeedai Who Stood with Vua Rapuung, Anakin Solo."
The frenzy grew to fever pitch when Tahiri said Anakin's name, and Tahiri called Anakin to join her on the rock. Jacen watched Anakin's eyes widen in surprise as he hesitated, then stepped forward and jumped up to stand next to his wife as she began speaking again.
"The Gods smiled on him on Yavin, they guided him in his search for me and helped as he stood with Vua Rapuung against many warriors."
Jacen watched Tahiri lean over to Anakin, then watched Anakin hold up his lightsaber pommel and ignite his blade, holding it high above his head.
"The Gods led Anakin Solo to the lambent fields and guided him as he built a new lightsaber using a lambent crystal. His lightsaber, the lightsaber he holds now, the weapon of the Jeedai, is made with a Yuuzhan Vong lambent. Would the Gods allow an infidel to use a lambent in his weapon if the Gods hated the Jeedai? No. Would the Gods allow Vua Rapuung to redeem his name with the help of a Jeedai if Vua Rapuung was truly cursed? No.
"Many thought Anakin Solo perished on the worldship Baanu Raas, but he survived. He spent a year on the planet Myrkr, living off the land, alone, unable to use the Force, and finally escaped and found his way back to his crèche mates. The Gods smiled upon him again, as they did on Yavin, and helped him survive so he could lead you to victory in this final battle against your oppressors. Join with us, join with the Jeedai who stood with Vua Rapuung, help him defeat the warriors who spill your blood as though your lives mean nothing."
Huane kept going, not only translating what Tahiri was saying, but also what was being said by the audience. And still the hall continued to fill up, the space growing more densely packed, a steady stream of Shamed Ones entering, as Tahiri continued to speak, as she promised these beings a life they had only dreamed of.
"Help us end this war and we will take you to Zonoma Sekot where you can live in peace."
Tahiri's final words were nearly drowned out by the cries of the shamed ones. Huane was barely able to translate what Tahiri was saying, or what the shamed ones were saying, but it didn't matter anymore. The message was clear: the shamed ones believed Tahiri, they believed the 'heresy'. They would follow the Jeedai, they would join the infidels, they would join the Galactic Alliance, they would fight to end the war, they would fight for their redemption, they would fight for their own salvation.