Three days after Han and Leia were notified of the battle going on between the Galactic Alliance and Corellian forces in the latter's namesake system, the Millennium Falcon, a single squadron of StealthX fighters, and six Jedi Blastboats dropped out of hyperspace into that system. Up ahead, they saw that even after all these days, the battle was still raging; debris was strewn with a particular concentration around Corellia, and while there were lulls in the fighting here and there on account of the combatants having no doubt grown tired, the space around the most famous of the Five Worlds was still far from safe.
After taking a moment to look at the battle, Han opened up a comm channel to a Jedi in one of the Blastboats. "You there, Hoil?" he asked
"I'm here, Captain Solo," the raspy male Barabel voice came from the other end.
"What can you sense from the minds of some of those up ahead?" Han inquired. Jedi Hoil was one of the most gifted in terms of reading the states of individual minds from vast distances, with a slight inclination of visualizing and even hearing others' thoughts if he tried hard enough. For Han and Leia, that made him one of the most qualified Jedi Knights on hand in determining why someone like Nek Bwua'tu would believe that he was fighting the Yuuzhan Vong when they were obviously absent from the Corellian system.
"Give me a few moments," Hoil replied. Several seconds later, his voice returned with, "Even with the fatigue that the combatants have accumulated, Captain Solo, I can sense that urgent panic still runs strong in their minds. I have also gleaned images of Yuuzhan Vong warships from my reading of the minds of the various GA and Corellian crew members. They have the scent of falsehood in them, but not those that the minds have created for themselves; the falsehood seems to have come from without, because it all has a disturbing, hive-minded uniformity."
Han and Leia both knew that Hoil's use of the term "scent" pertained to his nature as a Barabel and how he equivocated his experiences as a hunter on Barab IV—the Barabel colony created just two years ago and which was located far from the now-uninhabitable Barab system—to being a Jedi in the Order. So for him to detect whether or not thoughts were "false" indicated that he could tell if they were simple lies or if they were somehow placed into those minds.
"Hive-minded uniformity?" Leia was the one to ask. "You mean like with the Killiks?"
"Unfortunately, I haven't spent any time with the Killiks to know, Princess Leia," Hoil responded. "All I can tell you is that for whatever reason, those within the GA and Corellian military forces here genuinely believe that they are seeing and fighting Yuuzhan Vong warships and they are neither natural nor self-deluding thoughts."
"Alright, well, now that we know that everyone fighting here is suffering from some mass delusion," Han said, "how can we stop it? Do your powers extend beyond just sensing what other people are thinking, Hoil?"
"Yes, they can, but not from this distance, Captain Solo," Hoil replied. "I would need to physically interact with the deluded victims to purge their mental infections. And as you can see, even after all the deaths in this battle so far, there are still too many minds for me to cure in any feasible amount of time even if we were to successfully board the capital ships of either side."
"Not to mention we can't really get to the starfighter pilots," the voice of Jivana, Hoil's mate, piped in.
"Hmm," Leia said in thought. "Then why not try to focus in on two important figures: Admirals Bwua'tu and Prest? If you cure their minds, they can call off the fighting, right?"
"Yes, but everyone else in these two fleets will still believe that the Yuuzhan Vong are in their midst, Princess Leia," Hoil replied, "and they will still believe that the Vong are firing their weapons at them. At that point, there would be too many soldiers on either side who would refuse to stand down despite the commanders' orders, and that's even if those soldiers are informed of the nature of this mass delusion."
"How can you be so sure?" Han asked.
"I can sense that there is a nature to these hallucinations that presses against the victims' notions of logic," Hoil answered. "In other words, telling the victims we can't reach physically might not do anything to stop them."
"Well, surely, you still have to try something!" Han exclaimed.
"We can still try to at least reach Bwua'tu and Prest, Captain Solo," Hoil replied calmly, "and perhaps they can at least get their ships to depart from this system so that they won't be embattled by the other vessels. But it would take time for us to reach the other survivors."
"Do what you can," Leia said. "Han and I are going to look for the source of all this."
"We are?" her husband asked.
"You believe there to be a definite cause to all this, Princess Leia?" Hoil asked.
"I think so, Jedi Hoil," Leia replied. "And I think that it may have something to do with the Horn siblings."
"Valin and Jysella?" Han asked. "What about them?"
"Didn't you remember, Han? They were the Jedi who were sent with the GA fleet to determine what caused the battle between the Corellians and Kiliks."
"You think they're behind this? Look, I know that Valin inherited Corran's ability to project illusions into others' minds, but this is to a whole other scale! And plus, why would he do this, and why would Jysella abide by it?"
"I don't know. But something tells me, and maybe it's the Force or just some tiny bit of logic, that this has something to do with why we haven't heard back from Zrendak Felds and the other Jedi who were supposed to wait for us when we got back from the Peshvit Nebula. Think about it: two sets of Jedi who are unaccounted for from their assigned duties? There's something fishy going on here, Han, and more than what's obvious out there." She waved a hand at the Falcon's forward viewport.
"Well, how do we know that Valin and Jysella aren't dead? I mean, they could have died out in that battle and not have anything to do with this mass delusion thing." Han looked back at the comm. "Hoil, did you or any of the Jedi with you know either of the Horn siblings well enough to know if they're still in the system?"
"I didn't," Hoil replied.
All of the Jedi who answered subsequently over the frequency replied in the negative.
"Well, wait, let's just ask Bwua'tu," Leia suggested.
"Good idea," Han said. "Hopefully, he's in a chatty mood, and maybe we can get to him despite what Hoil said."
"It's worth a shot, I suppose," the Barabel said evenly.
Moments later, Admiral Bwua'tu's dishevelled holographic appearance sprung up above the Falcon's dashboard; much to the Solo spouses' consternation, he looked even worse than the last time they saw him, as every strand of fur was all out of place and his uniform even looked soiled at this point. The worst part, though, was that they could tell that his eyes were bloodshot even through the holographic tinting.
"What is it now?!" the Bothan exclaimed.
"Admiral Bwua'tu," Leia began calmly, "you and everyone else in your fleet and on the Corellian side are under the sway of a mass delusion brought on by what we believe to be the work of Valin Horn, and maybe his sister Jysella, too."
"No, that can't be true!" Bwua'tu yelled. "The Vong! The Vong are here! I can see them! I can feel them! If you're not here to help us, then just-"
"Admiral!" Leia interrupted. "Do you know where the Horn siblings are now?"
"Do you honestly think we kept track of where they went after the Vong came, you stupid bitch?!" Bwua'tu snapped. "Now get off this line now!"
Han shut them off from that frequency right away. "You know, if he wasn't under a mass delusion, I'd punch him for calling you that. Hell, I might still punch him after all this is over. And if he pulls through."
"Never mind that, Han. At least we have a lead, or something approximating it. I think we can safely assume from that that Valin and Jysella have left the system, at least, and they're likely alive still. Of course, where they could be is a whole other issue."
"Where do you think we should start?" Han asked.
"Well, if what's happening here is somehow connected to Felds and the Jedi with him going missing," Leia began, "I think the best thing we can do is contact Shedu Maad and see if they've heard anything about either party."
"Sounds fair," Han said. He looked back to the comm. "You Jedi think you can handle this without us for a while?"
"We'll contact you if we need help, Captain Solo," Hoil said. "Safe journey to you both, and may the Force be with you."
"As with you, Jedi Hoil, and to the rest of you," Leia said.
Clicks over the frequency followed to signify the other Jedi signing off from the transmission before their StealthXs and Blastboats zoomed toward the free-for-all ahead of them. The Falcon, meanwhile, stayed where it was as Han piped in a transmission back to Shedu Maad.
Several anxious minutes later, a holographic representation of Tionne Solusar's tear-streaked face appeared before Han and Leia. A quiet but tense moment passed between the three of them as the remembrance of Kam's death came over them again.
Then Tionne asked, "Yes, what is it?"
"Tionne, have you heard back from either Valin or Jysella Horn?" Leia inquired. "This may sound unbelievable, but we think they may be the ones responsible for what's going on right now in the Corellian system."
"That does sound unbelievable, but I'm sure you have a good reason to think so," Tionne replied evenly. "But I'm sorry to say, I haven't seen either of them. However, I did just hear back from Master Skywalker and the others; they just left the Maw. Their party took several losses aboard a location called Sinkhole Station, including Masters Ramis and Lobi. Doran Sarkin-Tainer was among one of the Jedi Knights who was lost, and they were killed by the Jedi who were part of your group to look for Ben and the children who were taken by the Sith. Zrendak Felds and three others were left alive from the fighting and had been allowed to leave by Jaina."
Leia hung her head in newfound grief at hearing those names join the dead and the disgust at hearing what the Jedi who were with her and Han had done; Han only offered a comforting hand along the upper part of her back.
When Leia looked back up at Tionne, she asked, "Do you know why they did it? Felds and the others, I mean. And, hold on, what do you mean Jaina allowed them to leave? What are you talking about, Tionne?"
"In answer to your first question, Leia, apparently, Felds and his compatriots believed that the Jedi they fought were somehow imposters," Tionne explained. "And Master Skywalker has strong reason to suspect that Abeloth is responsible for their illness. And secondly, your daughter had convinced Felds and his fellow rogue Jedi to run and tell Abeloth that the only way she can escape being killed by Master Skywalker was to return to her home planet and stay there."
"Luke allowed this to happen?" Leia asked.
"Well, actually, Master Skywalker was Mind Walking," Tionne said. "It is a form of meditation learned by your son, Jacen, in which they entered a realm called beyond shadows; he, Master Skywalker, and Jaina performed this meditation to see if they could find a way to kill Abeloth. This happened while the rogue Jedi attacked."
"Okay, but that means that Kyp and the other Masters who were still conscious allowed Jaina to let the rogue Jedi just leave?" Leia asked.
"They did," Tionne confirmed. "Apparently, they had been weakened from the fighting and the losses they sustained to prevent the rogue Jedi from escaping."
"Well, okay, from what we just learned," Han said, "about these rogue Jedi believing this thing about imposters, that could be what Valin and Jysella are going through. It could be why they put up this mass delusion."
"I really hope you're wrong about that. But listen, there's more. It's... about Jaina..." Tionne began.
Leia looked back up in panic. "What about her?" She knew that she would have sensed her death like she did when it came to her son Anakin's demise so long ago, but the panic was still within her.
"She's escaped again," Tionne answered. She went on to explain the circumstances admitted by Kyp Durron while Luke and Jacen were still Mind Walking aboard the Solo Quest II.
While a part of Leia felt grateful to know that her daughter was still alive, she couldn't help but feel disappointment more strongly; to know that Jaina escaped Jedi custody once more made her feel like her heart had cracked open all over again.
When it was obvious to Tionne that Leia and Han had time to absorb that information, she went on with, "But while Jaina may have betrayed the Jedi again, it appears she may have left us with a direction to the Dagger of Mortis, the only thing that can permanently kill Abeloth."
"Permanently kill her?" Han asked. "Is there a way to temporarily kill someone?"
"In Abeloth's case, that might very well be possible," Tionne said.
Han shrugged in confusion. "This really must be some entity."
"She is," Tionne replied gravely.
"Well, as much as all of this is incredible to hear," Leia interjected, "this still doesn't get us any closer to finding out where Valin and Jysella are."
"No, but now, we figure it's very likely that they and the Felds party are probably linked by Abeloth somehow," Han said. "So if we find the Horn siblings, we'll also find the other four rogue Jedi. Of course, we don't know where they could be going as a common destination."
"Actually, there may be a location," Tionne piped up.
"And that would be?" Han asked.
"Well, it's a long shot," Tionne admitted, "and not even Master Skywalker stated this, this is just my opinion. But given the fact that Jaina left coordinates for the Dagger of Mortis to be found, it's very possible that all six rogue Jedi could be heading to those very same coordinates. After all, if Felds and his ilk knew where to find Master Skywalker's party, it could very well be the case that they know where to find them next, and that could be where the Dagger of Mortis is."
"Did Luke leave those coordinates with you, Tionne?" Leia asked. "You know, just in case something should happen to him?"
"He did. I can provide them for you right away. And, hopefully, they'll lead you to Valin and Jysella at least. I'll get them to you in a few minutes; hold on." She then signed off.
As Han and Leia sat back and looked out in renewed anxiety at the battle ahead of them, the former looked at his wife and asked, "Assuming that we do find Valin and Jysella, what's to stop them from doing the same thing to us what they did to everyone out there? I hate to say it, but you're not as well trained as they are, Leia."
"Well, if what Tionne said is true," Leia said, "then hopefully, Luke and the other Masters will be there to help us. And maybe we'll find some way to convince the Horns that we're not imposters and they should undo what they did in this system."
"I hope you're right, obviously," Han remarked.
It wasn't long after that Tionne's holographic form reappeared before them. "I'm giving you those coordinates now," she said.
Less than a minute later, said coordinates appeared in the Falcon's navcomp, and Han said, "Thanks, Tionne, we got 'em."
"Then good luck and, of course, may the Force be with you," Tionne said before she signed off.
"Let's hope this works," Han said.
He then wheeled the Falcon around and, seconds later, jumped it into hyperspace.