Chapter Two
Sang Anor had always felt most comfortable in the
Yuuzhan Vong worldship Long Reach of Death. He'd been
born and raised here after all, during the long search for a new
galaxy to call home. In these coral hallways and chambers he and
other Vong children had spent many hours at play: fighting hand to
hand, setting up ambushes for one another and figuring ways to
anticipate or even reverse such ambushes. He had killed for the
first time at that period of his life: the process of weeding out the
weak and stupid started quickly.
When he was older, all the feenir of his age-group were
divided into armies and staged battles in a long series of war
games designed to teach strategy and tactics. He had bonded to his
wife (now dead these past three years) onboard this massive ship,
and she had borne his son within it's walls.
And it was on this ship, under the eyes of the yammosk that
Sang Anor, then Prefect Sa'Anor, had torn the previous Executor
apart for his failure in allowing the captured Jedi, Vergere, to
escape three years ago. And for the tragedy that resulted from that
escape. It was here that he took that Executor's place.
Right now the Long Reach was hidden in plain sight,
just one more titanic rock in Sevac system's asteroid belt. As all
the major events of Sang Anor's life had occurred onboard, it was
only right that here he would plan his response to the Imperial
threat.
"From what our new Chiss slave has told us this alien
Grand Admiral does indeed have the support of the Chiss
population, if not the actual leaders." He spoke to Nom Anor as he
selected two tiny, clear gel spheres from a coral shelf. Inside each
hollow ball was a fat-bodied, bright red insect that breathed
through minute air holes in the gel surface.
"Unfortunately, we would have known of this much sooner
had we been able to plant agents on the Chiss planet." As a rule,
non-Chiss are not welcome on the Chiss homeworld, and while
blue ooglith masquers could easily be produced, the glowing eyes
had, until recently, posed a problem. "At any rate the
interrogation, along with the intelligence our 'friend' Coerl has
obtained for us, shows the extend of Imperial penetration into the
Unknown Regions."
He paced across the chamber, a high-ceilinged room lit by
the glowing bodies of thousands of Lumen bugs on the ceiling.
"The Empire has established a strong presence in eight sectors,
with systems providing resources and positions for tactical bases in
exchange for protection and stability, and Imperial humans and
Chiss providing troops. The human troops have even transferred
their families to these bases, so the Imperials are here to stay. A
grim business, but not insurmountable." A thin smile grew on his
face as he turned to his son, standing at attention in the living
chamber.
"But you know all this, Nom Anor, and you were rated
highest in your age-group in terms of tactical skill. So tell me,
what solutions do you see? What is the weakness in our enemy?"
Nom Anor drew himself up, but kept his eyes downcast.
"Executor, as I see it the great weakness of our foes is also their
great strength: Grand Admiral Thrawn himself."
Sang Anor suppressed a smile, pleased his son had come
to the same conclusion he himself had. "Explain."
"They rely on him, Executor. They depend on his
leadership. He is the heart of their fleet."
Sang Anor lifted a gel ball to eye level, pretending to
examine it closely. He cocked his head to one side. "And you
suggest we tear out the heart and crush it?"
"In a specific manner." He kept his eyes on the floor, but
excitement animated his face. "Thrawn must die, but by human
hands. Imperial humans and Chiss are infamous for not working
with other races. There is stress and division in their ranks.
Thrawn alone holds them together: their mutual respect for him is
what makes their alliance work. If it is known that humans have
slain him then the Empire loses their Chiss support."
"Also," he continued, "many of the worlds see themselves
allied with not with the Empire, but with Thrawn. He is the one
they trust, and his death will show them the Empire is not as
orderly and stable as they let on. Some planets will withdraw and
the Imperial fleet will be too occupied with keeping what they
have to turn their eyes this way. At the very worst it will slow
them, throw them into confusion and buy us time." Abandoning
their seed world remained an option, if necessary the Yuuzhan
Vong could utterly erase their presence in this system, but if the
Empire became dominant in the Unknown Regions then it would
be impossible to undertake any large scale operation in this galaxy
and go unnoticed.
"The gods have given us a clear path." Sang Anor
pronounced. "Grand Admiral Thrawn dies."
*************************************
The world Sang Anor had chosen as his breeding ground
for Yuuzhan Vong creatures was unremarkable by galactic
standards. Located in a system with no military or industrial value.
The native, sentient species, who called themselves the Nesz,
however had a number of odd traits that early survey teams never
got around to cataloging. Partly because anthropology with no
profit was not very often done in the Unknown Regions, partly
because of the nightmares and odd occurances that prompted
Outworlders to leave quickly.
The Nesz were aware of one another, they felt another's
pleasure or pain as clearly as their own. For that reason the Nesz
were utterly free of conflict. Tribes worked together instead of
competing, spears and bows were for hunting and fishing in the
marshlands, not battle. The Nesz knew nothing of war.
Until the Yuuzhan Vong came to their world.
They were like nothing the Nesz had experienced before.
They captured Nesz and changed them, making them dead to
their free brothers and sisters. They changed the very lands the
Nesz had know since the beginnings of their race: marshes and
towering bora trees were replaced with vast coral fields and
breeding grounds for monsters.
Worst of all, the Eternals who had defended the Nesz from
all Outworlders were powerless against these new invaders. It was
not until a newcomer arrived that the Nesz once more found hope.
*************************************
Oin kept his head down and back bent so the Overseers
Wouldn't notice he lacked the growths that had been forced on his
brothers and sisters. It was easy, there were only a handful of
Vong on the entire planet and they ignored the slaves unless one
made a mistake.
The young Nesz moved from one group of slaves to
another, counting things being grown and how far they'd matured.
He looked in on the rows of dovin basals, the amphistaff pits, the
razorbug hives and the growing mass of a yorrick coral
battlecruiser.
It was strange and terrible being so close to members of his
race without feeling them. Oin got no sense of the slaves
working along side him, they were now things separate and apart
from the Nesz. Only the sense of the Eternals watching over him
gave Oin the courage to do this.
He moved to the flat area the invaders used to land their
flying things. There he saw dozens of coralskippers, and
something else. It was made of metal, round with panels stuck on
two opposite sides. Oin's slit-eyes widened slightly. The
newcomer would want to know of this. He went to a bushel of
rods with rows of sharp teeth at the ends and took one. They were
used for scraping the coralskippers clean.
Oin walked to the edge of the landing field where the metal
thing lay, separate from the coralskippers. It was dented, the
panels bent and the transparasteel of the cockpit shattered.
"You!" A harsh voice rang out behind him and Oin
dropped to his belly with knees and elbows underneath him and his
thick tail curled against his right side. Groveling to the Overseer,
he hoped to hide his lack of Obeyers.
"My coralskipper filthy!" The Overseer snarled in Basic,
the human tongue the Nesz had learned from the invaders. "Go
clean!" He must have pointed to a specific ship, but Oin saw only
the Vong's clawed feet and didn't dare lift his head. The Overseer
must not have noticed, as he turned on his heel and stalked away.
Oin wasted no time in getting out of there.
*************************************
He felt better as soon as the mud of the marshlands
squished between his toes and he left the coral fields behind to
enter lands that were as yet unchanged. This was home.
He sensed the others, the few Nesz yet uncaught, and the
presence of the Eternals was strong as well. For now. The
changes made to the planet drained the Eternals of their power.
They drew strength from the life of this world, and that life was
being choked out and they couldn't touch the invaders or their
creatures.
Oin jumped over the waist-high root of a bora tree and felt
his feet sink into something strange in the tall grass. He tried to
move his feet, pull them out, but the substance held them. He
gaped in horror as the blorash jelly spread upward, engulfing the
rest of his body. A trap!
Sticky tendrils of jelly reached up, seized his arms and held
them against his sides, he tried to scream but the jelly soon
covered everything but his eyes and nostrils. From a hollow in the
bora tree, a small insect crawled free and examined Oin with its
antenna. Transparent wings unfolded and the bug darted off. It
would tell one of the Yuuzhan Vong a trap was sprung, and Oin
would become in truth the slave he'd played at being.
Heart pounding with terror, he struggled uselessly. Then,
spying a pond, he rolled himself toward it. He didn't hesitate: he
saw himself as escaping death, not going toward it. Drowning was
infinitely better than being one of the walking dead in the fields.
At least this way he would join the Eternals.
He never made it. Whips of jelly reached from the cocoon
encasing him, slapped against the tree and pulled Oin back. It held
him upright against the trunk no matter how he struggled to break
free. He stopped squirming when he sensed something moving in
the brush. One of the invaders was here to take him! Fear chilled
his heart, and vanished in a blaze of violet light.
A cloaked figure, far too small and slight to be a Yuuzhan
Vong, flowed out of the grass screen. The jelly reacted, tendrils
whipped at the Jedi faster than the eye could follow, which the
lightsaber easily sliced off. More jelly reached out to take the
newcomer and the stuff parted from the main body attacked as
well. The Jedi was fast, incredibly fast, and the lightsaber was a
blurring shield.
Oin renewed his struggles and the jelly couldn't hold him
and fight at the same time. It tried to cover his nostrils and
smother him, but Oin had managed to free a hand and cover his
face. He pulled himself from the sticky embrace and the Jedi fled
as soon as she saw he was free. She turned and ran, with Oin
beside her. Her hood fell back, revealing a triangular face with
whiskers, feathers and large eyes the color of the lightsaber.
"You did well, Oin." She spoke in his own language.
"With your help, aye, Vergere."
*************************************
Vergere peeled the screen of greenery away from her small
Freighter's airlock and entered the old crate she affectionately
called the Loon. She set the computer to check all systems,
then went into the adjoining workroom and glanced at the small
storage closet she used as a meditation chamber. There she often
tried to find direction through the Force, or better yet to make
contact with the spirit of her Master. So far she was unsuccessful,
but she was having trouble meditating on this world: it was as if
something was blocking her. Most likely the Vong operation had
altered the Force on this planet somehow. Too bad, she could use
a little guidance.
Sithspawn, just having another Jedi to talk to would
help. She sat at a workbench and began disassembling and
cleaning her lightsaber. Along with the traditional weapon, she
had a blaster, a hold-out blaster and two vibroblades concealed in
her robe and khakis. Maintaining her lightsaber was second nature
to Vergere, so she could afford to think about the intelligence Oin
had gathered.
Prefect Sa'Anor was keeping busy. She supposed he was
Executor by now, though. She hoped the pilot of that TIE had died
before falling into Vong hands: Sang Anor would make him feel
pain like he never knew existed. Vergere knew Sang Anor all too
well: a dangerous man, more so than any of his people she had
met. Vergere got no sense of him in the Force, but the Jedi had
other ways of judging a person's heart. There was a coldness
behind that one's eyes that she never could get used to. She had
never encountered the Emperor or his henchman, Darth Vader, but
she guessed there was little difference between Palpatine and Sang
Anor.
There were other matters to concern the Jedi. From what
Oin had said, there was a TIE fighter on this planet. That could
only mean the Empire is getting close to his seed world. For over
a year Vergere had heard the Empire had a fleet operating in the
Unknown Regions and had been debating over what to do about it.
On the one hand, the Empire was by definition the deadly enemy
of her and her vanished Order, of the galaxy itself. On the other
hand the Yuuzhan Vong were an equal threat.
It had been a great temptation to simply tell the Imperials
about the Vong and their plans, but there was little chance
whoever commanded that Imperial fleet would listen to wild tales
of a people from another galaxy who used organics instead of
machines. Not when a Jedi was doing the telling. Her only chance
had been to follow the path of the Vong worldship hoping to find
some evidence of the threat they posed.
An entire planet used to breed weapons of conquest fit that
bill.
Vergere reassembled her lightsaber and hooked it on her
belt, then left the ship to go and speak with the Nesz elders. She
would need food supplies for her trip, which they could easily
provide. She sat sipping a very tasty brew made from water, herbs
and ingredients she'd rather not know and considered her next
move.
Getting offworld wouldn't be difficult, as the Yuuzhan
Vong would be looking outward for attackers, not inward. After
getting away it would be a simple matter to eavesdrop on open
comm channels to find out where the Imperial fleet is. Then she
would bring the vaunted might of the Empire down on this world.
A thorough planetary bombardment should deal with Sang Anor
once and for all. And the best part was that only Yuuzhan Vong
and Imperials would die.
A smile tickled the corners of her mouth, and died when a
small Nesz female approached her. Vlu, one of the elders,
appeared beside the little one.
"I am sorry for disturbing you," Vlu looked sheepish as he
scratched the young Nesz's head, "but the little one has heard you
will leave soon and wishes to thank you for all you have done for
us."
She set her cup down. "I've told you before Vlu, it's all part
of a Jedi's responsibility."
"Perhaps, but if not for you we would all have been slaves
in the coral fields by now. The hope you have given us has helped
many stay free." He tilted his head. "Will you return soon? With
help for us?"
"I will do what I can." Vergere said carefully, her mouth
dry. The Imperials would sterilize this world utterly when they
understood the threat. These hidden villages would be vaporized
into so many drifting molecules. She looked into the innocent,
trusting eyes of the Nesz and balanced their few hundred lives
against the rest of the galaxy if Sang Anor were allowed to
continue his plans unchecked.
She felt a lightsaber was carving her own heart out.
*************************************
Deep in the marshlands, on a tiny Island dominated by a
bora tree, Oin scuttled up its massive trunk with the agility of a
lizard-monkey. He carried a large sack made of shed Nesz skin
and was slowly filling it with clinger fungus he plucked from the
damp hollows, quite delicious when cooked slowly with the right
spices.
He found a treasure in a nest of grubs burrowing under a
piece of bark and shooed away a bird, who retreated to a high
branch and watched with jealous eyes while the young Nesz ate.
Oin wasn't afraid: there were no Vong traps this far from the coral
fields and no native creature could harm an adult Nesz. It was an
odd but familiar feeling in the air that made Oin stop picking at the
grubs and look down.
A shimmering mist appeared above the water shadowed by
the bora's spreading branches. It coalesced into an ethereal figure
that hovered over the surface. The strange being seemed to be
here and yet somewhere else at the same time, one second Oin saw
skin and scales similar to his own and seemingly solid, the next he
saw bones, innards and flowing blood, all transparent. The
creature turned what looked like its head to the right and was soon
joined by another Eternal.
"The Jedi will leave soon." The second one said to the
first, not with words: Oin didn't hear it with his ears but inside his
head. He sat quietly on the branch and stilled his own thoughts as
best he could.
"Yes, I know." The first answered. Its mouth, first on a
Nesz-like face, then a reptilian skull, did not move. "I have made
certain she knows only what she must of this world."
"You have been blocking her." The second said. "Keeping
her from seeing us."
"It would do no one any good." Underneath the two
Eternals, the water swirled.
"Some disagree. They think we should reveal ourselves,
that the Jedi could help us."
"She is the enemy of our enemy, this does not make her our
friend." There was no mistaking the authority in the first one's
'voice.'
"Jedi are bound to defend life." The second reminded.
"All life, friend, the invaders threaten the whole of the
galaxy. The Jedi would have our world destroyed to stop them, I
see it in her thoughts. So let her worry about saving the galaxy, we
must save ourselves and our young ones." Blobs of water rose up
under them and combined into an ever-changing sculpture between
them.
"We cannot stop the invaders." There was despair in the
second one's voice. "Many of us have died already. Few of our
young ones remain free."
"There is hope." The first Eternal reassured. "I have a
plan, it calls for one of our young ones." It turned its shifting face
up to the tree. "Come down Oin." It spoke into the Nesz's mind in
a warm, amused voice. Oin's snout drooped a bit, he should have
known better than to try and fool an Eternal.
He quickly shimmied down the trunk and sat attentively on
a root. The Eternals were not the fierce slave masters the Yuuzhan
Vong were, demanding groveling obedience. The Nesz regarded
the Eternals as wise and loving parents.
"Young one," the first Eternal spoke gently, "you have
spent much time with the Jedi here. Now there is something you
must do for us, something that will mean salvation for all the Nesz
yet free." In a gentle but commanding voice, the Eternal told Oin
what to do.
*************************************
Nom Anor removed his clothing and allowed the ooglith
masquer to flow over him, tiny tendrils hooked into his pores with
exquisite pain as the second skin covered him. When the new
'face' adjusted and he could see, speak and breathe normally, he
turned to his father for examination.
Sang Anor walked slowly around what was now, to all
appearenced, a naked human male. "Very good." He nodded.
Prefect Ke'Nass smirked. "You are proud your offspring
will pass as an infidel?"
"Send in the warriors." Sang Anor turned to the shelves.
To rush to his son's defense as if he were an infant would only
dishonor them both, and Nom Anor had too little status to take
objection to the high-ranking Prefect. The best strategy was
simply to ignore the jibe, but under the cloaker Nom Anor seethed
with rage.
Part of that was because he knew the contempt was in some
ways justified. His father had put him on this important mission
when he had so many seasoned warriors to choose from as a
chance to prove himself. Nom Anor knew it, he knew everyone
else knew it, and the only way to justify his presence would be to
exceed everyone's expectation. Even his father's.
Three warriors entered the chamber, their bodies covered
with scars and tattoos. As one they knelt before the Executor and
Sang Anor broke open two of the gel balls containing red dye bugs.
He set each one on the ridge over one of the warrior's eyes. The
kneeling Vong did not flinch as the dye bugs each sprouted a
stinger and stabbed into the white of the man's eyes.
They pumped red lumin dye into the eyes and removed
their stingers. Quick as an amphistaff, Sang Anor plucked them
off the Vong's face and deposited them in a bottle-shell. By the
time he turned back the warrior's eyes glowed red. He smiled and
handed him a blue ooglith masquer.
He repeated the process and soon three naked Chiss and
one human shared the chamber with the Executor and Prefect.
"Very good." He nodded. "The lumin dye will fade away
in a few hours so you will have to reapply, but you are not to try
and pass as Chiss unless necessary." He spoke to the four
assembled warriors. "Use the human-skin masquers. I give you
these as a precaution: because the Grand Admiral is a Chiss, some
doors may be closed to humans."
"Although our Chiss slave has given us an idea of his
culture it is by no means complete, and the tizowryms have some
difficulty in coding their language. If you must use these disguises
then avoid interacting with true Chiss and speak only Basic." He
folded his hands behind him and continued.
"My agent on the Miashku planet has confirmed Coerl's
information, the Grand Admiral's flagship is on a course for that
world. It will be our perfect opportunity."
For almost two years the Warlord Coerl had been entirely
under Sang Anor's control and many of his top advisors were
Yuuzhan Vong agents. The warlord was very useful, both as a
source of information and as a screen against intruders on the seed
world. Selecting a system in space Coerl controlled was not a
random choice at all.
"Once you arrive at the traders' planet you will rendezvous
with my agent, Hren Silra, and put yourselves under his command.
Once the Chiss commander has been eliminated you will go to
ground until the Imperials leave Miashku space, then return here.
Understood?"
"Yes, Executor." The senior warrior answered.
"Very good. Remove your masquers and prepare for the
rites." The disguises were stripped off and sent to a far corner.
Sang Anor turned to the Prefect. "We are ready for him."
A new Vong, gaunt and aged, appeared at the expanding
iris-door. Horribly burned and scalded from bald head to bare,
cracked feet, he turned a skull-like face toward them. His eyes
were gone, his sockets black pits of nightmare, and the sightless
gaze was enough to unnerve the strongest warrior.
He was enveloped in a vrashi membrane, its sensitive skin
and long, bristling spines gave him a sense of the world around
him and the long, sensitive amphistaff he held guided his way.
The four naked warriors dropped to their bellies, faces
pressed to the floor. Ke'Nass knelt and Sang Anor gave a deep,
respectful bow to the priest.
"May the Cloaked Goddess hide you from the infidel." He
spoke to the warriors in a deep, emotionless voice. "May the Slayer
guide your hands in time of bloodshed." The Prefect was
dismissed and an Embrace of Pain was unveiled from one of the
walls. The warriors who would journey into the heart of the
heathens' land would need to be cleansed before and after
encountering the taint of machines.
Sang Anor oversaw the rites himself, and although his
expression remained stern his heart swelled with pride as Nom
Anor took the agony as well as the other warriors.
Sang Anor had always felt most comfortable in the
Yuuzhan Vong worldship Long Reach of Death. He'd been
born and raised here after all, during the long search for a new
galaxy to call home. In these coral hallways and chambers he and
other Vong children had spent many hours at play: fighting hand to
hand, setting up ambushes for one another and figuring ways to
anticipate or even reverse such ambushes. He had killed for the
first time at that period of his life: the process of weeding out the
weak and stupid started quickly.
When he was older, all the feenir of his age-group were
divided into armies and staged battles in a long series of war
games designed to teach strategy and tactics. He had bonded to his
wife (now dead these past three years) onboard this massive ship,
and she had borne his son within it's walls.
And it was on this ship, under the eyes of the yammosk that
Sang Anor, then Prefect Sa'Anor, had torn the previous Executor
apart for his failure in allowing the captured Jedi, Vergere, to
escape three years ago. And for the tragedy that resulted from that
escape. It was here that he took that Executor's place.
Right now the Long Reach was hidden in plain sight,
just one more titanic rock in Sevac system's asteroid belt. As all
the major events of Sang Anor's life had occurred onboard, it was
only right that here he would plan his response to the Imperial
threat.
"From what our new Chiss slave has told us this alien
Grand Admiral does indeed have the support of the Chiss
population, if not the actual leaders." He spoke to Nom Anor as he
selected two tiny, clear gel spheres from a coral shelf. Inside each
hollow ball was a fat-bodied, bright red insect that breathed
through minute air holes in the gel surface.
"Unfortunately, we would have known of this much sooner
had we been able to plant agents on the Chiss planet." As a rule,
non-Chiss are not welcome on the Chiss homeworld, and while
blue ooglith masquers could easily be produced, the glowing eyes
had, until recently, posed a problem. "At any rate the
interrogation, along with the intelligence our 'friend' Coerl has
obtained for us, shows the extend of Imperial penetration into the
Unknown Regions."
He paced across the chamber, a high-ceilinged room lit by
the glowing bodies of thousands of Lumen bugs on the ceiling.
"The Empire has established a strong presence in eight sectors,
with systems providing resources and positions for tactical bases in
exchange for protection and stability, and Imperial humans and
Chiss providing troops. The human troops have even transferred
their families to these bases, so the Imperials are here to stay. A
grim business, but not insurmountable." A thin smile grew on his
face as he turned to his son, standing at attention in the living
chamber.
"But you know all this, Nom Anor, and you were rated
highest in your age-group in terms of tactical skill. So tell me,
what solutions do you see? What is the weakness in our enemy?"
Nom Anor drew himself up, but kept his eyes downcast.
"Executor, as I see it the great weakness of our foes is also their
great strength: Grand Admiral Thrawn himself."
Sang Anor suppressed a smile, pleased his son had come
to the same conclusion he himself had. "Explain."
"They rely on him, Executor. They depend on his
leadership. He is the heart of their fleet."
Sang Anor lifted a gel ball to eye level, pretending to
examine it closely. He cocked his head to one side. "And you
suggest we tear out the heart and crush it?"
"In a specific manner." He kept his eyes on the floor, but
excitement animated his face. "Thrawn must die, but by human
hands. Imperial humans and Chiss are infamous for not working
with other races. There is stress and division in their ranks.
Thrawn alone holds them together: their mutual respect for him is
what makes their alliance work. If it is known that humans have
slain him then the Empire loses their Chiss support."
"Also," he continued, "many of the worlds see themselves
allied with not with the Empire, but with Thrawn. He is the one
they trust, and his death will show them the Empire is not as
orderly and stable as they let on. Some planets will withdraw and
the Imperial fleet will be too occupied with keeping what they
have to turn their eyes this way. At the very worst it will slow
them, throw them into confusion and buy us time." Abandoning
their seed world remained an option, if necessary the Yuuzhan
Vong could utterly erase their presence in this system, but if the
Empire became dominant in the Unknown Regions then it would
be impossible to undertake any large scale operation in this galaxy
and go unnoticed.
"The gods have given us a clear path." Sang Anor
pronounced. "Grand Admiral Thrawn dies."
*************************************
The world Sang Anor had chosen as his breeding ground
for Yuuzhan Vong creatures was unremarkable by galactic
standards. Located in a system with no military or industrial value.
The native, sentient species, who called themselves the Nesz,
however had a number of odd traits that early survey teams never
got around to cataloging. Partly because anthropology with no
profit was not very often done in the Unknown Regions, partly
because of the nightmares and odd occurances that prompted
Outworlders to leave quickly.
The Nesz were aware of one another, they felt another's
pleasure or pain as clearly as their own. For that reason the Nesz
were utterly free of conflict. Tribes worked together instead of
competing, spears and bows were for hunting and fishing in the
marshlands, not battle. The Nesz knew nothing of war.
Until the Yuuzhan Vong came to their world.
They were like nothing the Nesz had experienced before.
They captured Nesz and changed them, making them dead to
their free brothers and sisters. They changed the very lands the
Nesz had know since the beginnings of their race: marshes and
towering bora trees were replaced with vast coral fields and
breeding grounds for monsters.
Worst of all, the Eternals who had defended the Nesz from
all Outworlders were powerless against these new invaders. It was
not until a newcomer arrived that the Nesz once more found hope.
*************************************
Oin kept his head down and back bent so the Overseers
Wouldn't notice he lacked the growths that had been forced on his
brothers and sisters. It was easy, there were only a handful of
Vong on the entire planet and they ignored the slaves unless one
made a mistake.
The young Nesz moved from one group of slaves to
another, counting things being grown and how far they'd matured.
He looked in on the rows of dovin basals, the amphistaff pits, the
razorbug hives and the growing mass of a yorrick coral
battlecruiser.
It was strange and terrible being so close to members of his
race without feeling them. Oin got no sense of the slaves
working along side him, they were now things separate and apart
from the Nesz. Only the sense of the Eternals watching over him
gave Oin the courage to do this.
He moved to the flat area the invaders used to land their
flying things. There he saw dozens of coralskippers, and
something else. It was made of metal, round with panels stuck on
two opposite sides. Oin's slit-eyes widened slightly. The
newcomer would want to know of this. He went to a bushel of
rods with rows of sharp teeth at the ends and took one. They were
used for scraping the coralskippers clean.
Oin walked to the edge of the landing field where the metal
thing lay, separate from the coralskippers. It was dented, the
panels bent and the transparasteel of the cockpit shattered.
"You!" A harsh voice rang out behind him and Oin
dropped to his belly with knees and elbows underneath him and his
thick tail curled against his right side. Groveling to the Overseer,
he hoped to hide his lack of Obeyers.
"My coralskipper filthy!" The Overseer snarled in Basic,
the human tongue the Nesz had learned from the invaders. "Go
clean!" He must have pointed to a specific ship, but Oin saw only
the Vong's clawed feet and didn't dare lift his head. The Overseer
must not have noticed, as he turned on his heel and stalked away.
Oin wasted no time in getting out of there.
*************************************
He felt better as soon as the mud of the marshlands
squished between his toes and he left the coral fields behind to
enter lands that were as yet unchanged. This was home.
He sensed the others, the few Nesz yet uncaught, and the
presence of the Eternals was strong as well. For now. The
changes made to the planet drained the Eternals of their power.
They drew strength from the life of this world, and that life was
being choked out and they couldn't touch the invaders or their
creatures.
Oin jumped over the waist-high root of a bora tree and felt
his feet sink into something strange in the tall grass. He tried to
move his feet, pull them out, but the substance held them. He
gaped in horror as the blorash jelly spread upward, engulfing the
rest of his body. A trap!
Sticky tendrils of jelly reached up, seized his arms and held
them against his sides, he tried to scream but the jelly soon
covered everything but his eyes and nostrils. From a hollow in the
bora tree, a small insect crawled free and examined Oin with its
antenna. Transparent wings unfolded and the bug darted off. It
would tell one of the Yuuzhan Vong a trap was sprung, and Oin
would become in truth the slave he'd played at being.
Heart pounding with terror, he struggled uselessly. Then,
spying a pond, he rolled himself toward it. He didn't hesitate: he
saw himself as escaping death, not going toward it. Drowning was
infinitely better than being one of the walking dead in the fields.
At least this way he would join the Eternals.
He never made it. Whips of jelly reached from the cocoon
encasing him, slapped against the tree and pulled Oin back. It held
him upright against the trunk no matter how he struggled to break
free. He stopped squirming when he sensed something moving in
the brush. One of the invaders was here to take him! Fear chilled
his heart, and vanished in a blaze of violet light.
A cloaked figure, far too small and slight to be a Yuuzhan
Vong, flowed out of the grass screen. The jelly reacted, tendrils
whipped at the Jedi faster than the eye could follow, which the
lightsaber easily sliced off. More jelly reached out to take the
newcomer and the stuff parted from the main body attacked as
well. The Jedi was fast, incredibly fast, and the lightsaber was a
blurring shield.
Oin renewed his struggles and the jelly couldn't hold him
and fight at the same time. It tried to cover his nostrils and
smother him, but Oin had managed to free a hand and cover his
face. He pulled himself from the sticky embrace and the Jedi fled
as soon as she saw he was free. She turned and ran, with Oin
beside her. Her hood fell back, revealing a triangular face with
whiskers, feathers and large eyes the color of the lightsaber.
"You did well, Oin." She spoke in his own language.
"With your help, aye, Vergere."
*************************************
Vergere peeled the screen of greenery away from her small
Freighter's airlock and entered the old crate she affectionately
called the Loon. She set the computer to check all systems,
then went into the adjoining workroom and glanced at the small
storage closet she used as a meditation chamber. There she often
tried to find direction through the Force, or better yet to make
contact with the spirit of her Master. So far she was unsuccessful,
but she was having trouble meditating on this world: it was as if
something was blocking her. Most likely the Vong operation had
altered the Force on this planet somehow. Too bad, she could use
a little guidance.
Sithspawn, just having another Jedi to talk to would
help. She sat at a workbench and began disassembling and
cleaning her lightsaber. Along with the traditional weapon, she
had a blaster, a hold-out blaster and two vibroblades concealed in
her robe and khakis. Maintaining her lightsaber was second nature
to Vergere, so she could afford to think about the intelligence Oin
had gathered.
Prefect Sa'Anor was keeping busy. She supposed he was
Executor by now, though. She hoped the pilot of that TIE had died
before falling into Vong hands: Sang Anor would make him feel
pain like he never knew existed. Vergere knew Sang Anor all too
well: a dangerous man, more so than any of his people she had
met. Vergere got no sense of him in the Force, but the Jedi had
other ways of judging a person's heart. There was a coldness
behind that one's eyes that she never could get used to. She had
never encountered the Emperor or his henchman, Darth Vader, but
she guessed there was little difference between Palpatine and Sang
Anor.
There were other matters to concern the Jedi. From what
Oin had said, there was a TIE fighter on this planet. That could
only mean the Empire is getting close to his seed world. For over
a year Vergere had heard the Empire had a fleet operating in the
Unknown Regions and had been debating over what to do about it.
On the one hand, the Empire was by definition the deadly enemy
of her and her vanished Order, of the galaxy itself. On the other
hand the Yuuzhan Vong were an equal threat.
It had been a great temptation to simply tell the Imperials
about the Vong and their plans, but there was little chance
whoever commanded that Imperial fleet would listen to wild tales
of a people from another galaxy who used organics instead of
machines. Not when a Jedi was doing the telling. Her only chance
had been to follow the path of the Vong worldship hoping to find
some evidence of the threat they posed.
An entire planet used to breed weapons of conquest fit that
bill.
Vergere reassembled her lightsaber and hooked it on her
belt, then left the ship to go and speak with the Nesz elders. She
would need food supplies for her trip, which they could easily
provide. She sat sipping a very tasty brew made from water, herbs
and ingredients she'd rather not know and considered her next
move.
Getting offworld wouldn't be difficult, as the Yuuzhan
Vong would be looking outward for attackers, not inward. After
getting away it would be a simple matter to eavesdrop on open
comm channels to find out where the Imperial fleet is. Then she
would bring the vaunted might of the Empire down on this world.
A thorough planetary bombardment should deal with Sang Anor
once and for all. And the best part was that only Yuuzhan Vong
and Imperials would die.
A smile tickled the corners of her mouth, and died when a
small Nesz female approached her. Vlu, one of the elders,
appeared beside the little one.
"I am sorry for disturbing you," Vlu looked sheepish as he
scratched the young Nesz's head, "but the little one has heard you
will leave soon and wishes to thank you for all you have done for
us."
She set her cup down. "I've told you before Vlu, it's all part
of a Jedi's responsibility."
"Perhaps, but if not for you we would all have been slaves
in the coral fields by now. The hope you have given us has helped
many stay free." He tilted his head. "Will you return soon? With
help for us?"
"I will do what I can." Vergere said carefully, her mouth
dry. The Imperials would sterilize this world utterly when they
understood the threat. These hidden villages would be vaporized
into so many drifting molecules. She looked into the innocent,
trusting eyes of the Nesz and balanced their few hundred lives
against the rest of the galaxy if Sang Anor were allowed to
continue his plans unchecked.
She felt a lightsaber was carving her own heart out.
*************************************
Deep in the marshlands, on a tiny Island dominated by a
bora tree, Oin scuttled up its massive trunk with the agility of a
lizard-monkey. He carried a large sack made of shed Nesz skin
and was slowly filling it with clinger fungus he plucked from the
damp hollows, quite delicious when cooked slowly with the right
spices.
He found a treasure in a nest of grubs burrowing under a
piece of bark and shooed away a bird, who retreated to a high
branch and watched with jealous eyes while the young Nesz ate.
Oin wasn't afraid: there were no Vong traps this far from the coral
fields and no native creature could harm an adult Nesz. It was an
odd but familiar feeling in the air that made Oin stop picking at the
grubs and look down.
A shimmering mist appeared above the water shadowed by
the bora's spreading branches. It coalesced into an ethereal figure
that hovered over the surface. The strange being seemed to be
here and yet somewhere else at the same time, one second Oin saw
skin and scales similar to his own and seemingly solid, the next he
saw bones, innards and flowing blood, all transparent. The
creature turned what looked like its head to the right and was soon
joined by another Eternal.
"The Jedi will leave soon." The second one said to the
first, not with words: Oin didn't hear it with his ears but inside his
head. He sat quietly on the branch and stilled his own thoughts as
best he could.
"Yes, I know." The first answered. Its mouth, first on a
Nesz-like face, then a reptilian skull, did not move. "I have made
certain she knows only what she must of this world."
"You have been blocking her." The second said. "Keeping
her from seeing us."
"It would do no one any good." Underneath the two
Eternals, the water swirled.
"Some disagree. They think we should reveal ourselves,
that the Jedi could help us."
"She is the enemy of our enemy, this does not make her our
friend." There was no mistaking the authority in the first one's
'voice.'
"Jedi are bound to defend life." The second reminded.
"All life, friend, the invaders threaten the whole of the
galaxy. The Jedi would have our world destroyed to stop them, I
see it in her thoughts. So let her worry about saving the galaxy, we
must save ourselves and our young ones." Blobs of water rose up
under them and combined into an ever-changing sculpture between
them.
"We cannot stop the invaders." There was despair in the
second one's voice. "Many of us have died already. Few of our
young ones remain free."
"There is hope." The first Eternal reassured. "I have a
plan, it calls for one of our young ones." It turned its shifting face
up to the tree. "Come down Oin." It spoke into the Nesz's mind in
a warm, amused voice. Oin's snout drooped a bit, he should have
known better than to try and fool an Eternal.
He quickly shimmied down the trunk and sat attentively on
a root. The Eternals were not the fierce slave masters the Yuuzhan
Vong were, demanding groveling obedience. The Nesz regarded
the Eternals as wise and loving parents.
"Young one," the first Eternal spoke gently, "you have
spent much time with the Jedi here. Now there is something you
must do for us, something that will mean salvation for all the Nesz
yet free." In a gentle but commanding voice, the Eternal told Oin
what to do.
*************************************
Nom Anor removed his clothing and allowed the ooglith
masquer to flow over him, tiny tendrils hooked into his pores with
exquisite pain as the second skin covered him. When the new
'face' adjusted and he could see, speak and breathe normally, he
turned to his father for examination.
Sang Anor walked slowly around what was now, to all
appearenced, a naked human male. "Very good." He nodded.
Prefect Ke'Nass smirked. "You are proud your offspring
will pass as an infidel?"
"Send in the warriors." Sang Anor turned to the shelves.
To rush to his son's defense as if he were an infant would only
dishonor them both, and Nom Anor had too little status to take
objection to the high-ranking Prefect. The best strategy was
simply to ignore the jibe, but under the cloaker Nom Anor seethed
with rage.
Part of that was because he knew the contempt was in some
ways justified. His father had put him on this important mission
when he had so many seasoned warriors to choose from as a
chance to prove himself. Nom Anor knew it, he knew everyone
else knew it, and the only way to justify his presence would be to
exceed everyone's expectation. Even his father's.
Three warriors entered the chamber, their bodies covered
with scars and tattoos. As one they knelt before the Executor and
Sang Anor broke open two of the gel balls containing red dye bugs.
He set each one on the ridge over one of the warrior's eyes. The
kneeling Vong did not flinch as the dye bugs each sprouted a
stinger and stabbed into the white of the man's eyes.
They pumped red lumin dye into the eyes and removed
their stingers. Quick as an amphistaff, Sang Anor plucked them
off the Vong's face and deposited them in a bottle-shell. By the
time he turned back the warrior's eyes glowed red. He smiled and
handed him a blue ooglith masquer.
He repeated the process and soon three naked Chiss and
one human shared the chamber with the Executor and Prefect.
"Very good." He nodded. "The lumin dye will fade away
in a few hours so you will have to reapply, but you are not to try
and pass as Chiss unless necessary." He spoke to the four
assembled warriors. "Use the human-skin masquers. I give you
these as a precaution: because the Grand Admiral is a Chiss, some
doors may be closed to humans."
"Although our Chiss slave has given us an idea of his
culture it is by no means complete, and the tizowryms have some
difficulty in coding their language. If you must use these disguises
then avoid interacting with true Chiss and speak only Basic." He
folded his hands behind him and continued.
"My agent on the Miashku planet has confirmed Coerl's
information, the Grand Admiral's flagship is on a course for that
world. It will be our perfect opportunity."
For almost two years the Warlord Coerl had been entirely
under Sang Anor's control and many of his top advisors were
Yuuzhan Vong agents. The warlord was very useful, both as a
source of information and as a screen against intruders on the seed
world. Selecting a system in space Coerl controlled was not a
random choice at all.
"Once you arrive at the traders' planet you will rendezvous
with my agent, Hren Silra, and put yourselves under his command.
Once the Chiss commander has been eliminated you will go to
ground until the Imperials leave Miashku space, then return here.
Understood?"
"Yes, Executor." The senior warrior answered.
"Very good. Remove your masquers and prepare for the
rites." The disguises were stripped off and sent to a far corner.
Sang Anor turned to the Prefect. "We are ready for him."
A new Vong, gaunt and aged, appeared at the expanding
iris-door. Horribly burned and scalded from bald head to bare,
cracked feet, he turned a skull-like face toward them. His eyes
were gone, his sockets black pits of nightmare, and the sightless
gaze was enough to unnerve the strongest warrior.
He was enveloped in a vrashi membrane, its sensitive skin
and long, bristling spines gave him a sense of the world around
him and the long, sensitive amphistaff he held guided his way.
The four naked warriors dropped to their bellies, faces
pressed to the floor. Ke'Nass knelt and Sang Anor gave a deep,
respectful bow to the priest.
"May the Cloaked Goddess hide you from the infidel." He
spoke to the warriors in a deep, emotionless voice. "May the Slayer
guide your hands in time of bloodshed." The Prefect was
dismissed and an Embrace of Pain was unveiled from one of the
walls. The warriors who would journey into the heart of the
heathens' land would need to be cleansed before and after
encountering the taint of machines.
Sang Anor oversaw the rites himself, and although his
expression remained stern his heart swelled with pride as Nom
Anor took the agony as well as the other warriors.