As you're reading these last two chapters, just remember one thing:  THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:  RESCUE ATTEMPT

          "Can we talk?"  Said Ganner, walking into the lounge area of the Falcon.

          "I think I'll go find out how much longer until we reach Chandrilla," said Lusa, getting up from where she sat at the deactivated holo game table across from Jaina.

          Ganner gave her a grateful nod when she passed him, and took Lusa's spot at the game table.

          "I'm sure Jacen and Tenal Ka are all right," he said to Jaina, "they know how to take care of themselves."

          "Jacen's okay," she said in a certain voice, "I would have felt it if anything had happened to him.  And that probably means Tenal Ka is fine too,"

          "Look, I'm sorry about earlier," he said slowly, "it was an accident.  I didn't mean to kiss you,"

          "You didn't?"  Jaina said, trying to hide her disappointment.

          "We've been through a lot these last few days," he explained, "and I think the whole near death experience made me do it,"

          "Right," Jaina agreed, nodding her head.

          "And when I told you I wasn't interested in you, I meant it,"

          "Of course," said Jaina, "I'm not ready for a relationship now anyways,"

          "So we're okay?"  Ganner said, acting uncharacteristically nervous.

          "Why wouldn't we be?"

          "I don't know," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "so we can be friends?"

          Jaina smiled at him. "I'd like that,"

          Body stiff and sore from the cold, Jacen hunched down on the snowy ground in front of Tenal Ka.  She looked exhausted, and was shaking all over from the cold.  She still had his sweater on, but it did not seem to be doing her much good now.  It looked as if she had used up her remaining energy to put herself in the near-death like state to fool the Vong.

          Jacen was not fairing much better.  His exposed skin looked raw and had turned red.  He had long ago lost feeling in his arms and legs.  They were both suffering from a major case of frostbite, and one that would have lasting effects if they did not get out of the cold soon.

          He had not thought far enough ahead to think of where they were going to find shelter, and now he was thinking that maybe he should have.  But he had been too preoccupied with escaping before the Vong came to take Tenal Ka back to do so.

          He put her remaining frozen hand in his numb ones, in a futile effort to try and get it warm again.

          "We have to get moving again soon," he told her.  As soon as they had gone on the run, he had started reaching out with the force every so often, searching for patches or voids in it.  For the first little while, he had felt only the life of the forest around them, but recently patches of nothing had made their way into his perception.  And they were getting closer.

          They had kept on without a break until Tenal Ka had finally requested a short one.  That in itself was not a good sign.  She was the one who could go on for hours without a rest, while he was the one who would usually ask to stop or for her to at least slow down.

          He reached out with his mind, wanting to see how close the Yuuzhan Vong were to them.  His eyes widened in fear when all around him he felt voids of nothing closing in on them.

          "Come on," he said helping her up, "we have to go,"

          He was angry with himself for not checking more closely for the Vong, but he had not expected them to track him and Tenal Ka down so fast.

          Tenal Ka had a hard time keeping up with him, but she managed to do it.  She hated feeling this weak, but she hated slowing down Jacen even more.  They could have been miles ahead of the Yuuzhan Vong by now if not for her.  If they did have a confrontation with them, she was not going to let them get her without a fight.

          Jacen had no idea what they were running to, but all he knew was that as long as they kept on the move the Yuuzhan Vong couldn't get them.  Though with all the noise they were making – rocks and twigs crunching beneath their feet – it was virtually impossible for the Vong not to be able to track them.

          He thought they were actually gaining some distance from the Vong when a brown and gray blur grabbed him from behind and shoved him into a tree trunk.  Jacen readied his fists but quickly dropped them when he recognized the person in front of him.

          "Anakin," Jacen breathed in amazement.

          "Do you have any idea how hard a time Tahiri and I had tracking you?  Nobody around here gives you a straight answer,"

          "That' because they're working with the Yuuzhan Vong," Jacen told him, "but we don't have time to talk about that now.  The Vong are looking for me and Tenal Ka,"

          Anakin looked over at Tenal Ka, who was now wearing Tahiri's parka.  She looked like she was ready to collapse.  Jacen did not look much better.

          "Here," Anakin said, giving his frostbitten brother his own parka.

          Jacen took it gratefully, saying, "you do have a ship around here, don't you?"

          Anakin nodded.  "Follow me – "

          "Anakin, look out!"  Tahiri shrieked.

          That split second warning probably saved his life.  He rolled out of the way of the attacking Yuuzhan Vong warrior and ignited his violet saber.  Getting up onto one knee, he blocked the amphistaff's thrust aimed at his neck.  He swiped at the back of warriors' knees, but the warrior blocked it – awkwardly.  It was off balance enough allowing Anakin to get back to his feet.

          Not daring to take his attention off the Yuuzhan Vong even for a second, Anakin shouted, "Tahiri, take them to the ship and I'll follow you,"

          "She has her hands full right now," his brother's voice answered instead.

          Anakin swore under his breath, as he jumped out of the way of a swipe at his midsection.  The situation was getting worse by the minute.  Jacen and Tenal Ka had no weapons, and now the Vong had found them.  He could already see at least a dozen warriors running towards them and would be at their position within moments.

          He had not planned on battling his way through hoards of Yuuzhan Vong to get out of there, but if that's what he had to do, then he would do it.

          He had fought enough Yuuzhan Vong to know that this one definitely belonged to the more experienced lot.  Anakin could tell by the way he was barely able to bring his energy blade up fast enough to block the lunges it made with its amphistaff.  He wondered if Tahiri was fairing any better against her own opponent.

          There was no way he could just cut and run.  The warrior would cut him down before he took two steps.  But he could not just stand there and let the approaching Vong box them in.  Coming to a decision, he said, "Jacen, take Tenal Ka and go find the ship.  You can't do anything here," he ducked to avoid a vicious strike at his head.  He could feel his brother's hesitation.  "We'll find you after, now get going!"

          Anakin's divided attention allowed the Vong to back him up against a tree, giving him little room to maneuver his blade.  So he turned it off.  The Vong went to strike out with its amphistaff at his chest, but Anakin had already dropped into a crouching position.  He ignited his blade, and it shimmered to life, burning its way through the Vong's kneecap.  Anakin finished the job, cutting its leg off at the knee.  The Vong was relentless though, and continued to attack Anakin without mercy.  But it was badly injured and at a complete disadvantage now, and with one swipe of his saber he cut off its head.  The decapitated head had not even had a chance to hit the ground, when in Anakin's mind he heard a tormented scream that made his heart stop in his chest.

          He didn't see it happen, but when he looked over at her he saw the amphistaff sticking out of her abdomen.  The Vong that had snuck up behind her yanked its weapon out of her, and she just stood there, blood pouring out of the wound, staring at Anakin.  The look of horror in her eyes burned its way into his memory.

          "TAHIRI!"  He screamed, charging towards her.  Two pairs of strong hands grabbed onto him.  Anakin struggled uselessly in his brother and Tenal Ka's grasp, not taking his eyes off Tahiri as she crumpled to the ground, surrounded by Yuuzhan Vong.

          "Let go of me!" He cried, and managed to break free from Tenal Ka's hold, but his brother still gripped his arms tightly.

          "Anakin, it's too late," said Jacen, "there's nothing you can do,"

          "No," Anakin said, shaking his head furiously.  Jacen didn't know what he was talking about.  He could still save her.  There was still time.

          "Anakin, listen to me," Jacen shouted, trying to get through to him, "she's gone, and so will we if we don't get out of here.  Don't let her death be for nothing,"

          Anakin finally broke free of his brother's hold, and Jacen was afraid he was going to have to slug him in the side of the head and drag him to the ship, but Anakin stayed where he was.

          "The ship is this way," he said in a flat, emotionless tone.  He took off deeper into the woods, with Jacen and Tenal Ka right behind him.

          The area was crawling with the Yuuzhan Vong warriors now, and most of them gave chase to the escapees, but a few remained behind to carry Tahiri's lifeless body back to the mining facility.

          Anakin ran hard, his body numb with cold not only on the outside but on the inside as well.  He didn't want to think or feel.  If he did that then he would have to acknowledge the growing pit of emptiness inside him, and that meant he would have to accept that Tahiri was dead.  He wasn't ready to do that.

          When he felt like he was losing control of his emotions, he made his body run harder.  He did not even bother to check if Jacen and Tenal Ka were keeping up with him.

          If his brother had just listened to him and left to go find the ship, he could have gone after Tahiri.  Even if he had been unable to save her, he would have made the Vong pay.  Every last one of them.

          He had not even been able to retrieve her body and take it back with him.  He had been forced to leave it behind with a group of merciless, cold-blooded killers.

          It was like Chewbacca all over again.  Tahiri had done nothing wrong except make the fatal mistake of putting her trust in him, like Chewie had.

          When the tiny supply ship came into view, Anakin look neither relieved nor happy.  He simply continued running.  When he reached it, he brought down the boarding ramp and headed for the cockpit.  He could hear Tenal Ka and Jacen's footsteps coming up behind him.

          Anakin drew a blank when he sat down at the controls.  He briefly squeezed his eyes shut.  He could not afford to breakdown now, people's lives depended on him, and he was not going to let anyone else die because of him.  Concentrating hard, his hands flew over the instruments and he quickly lifted the ship into the air.  He hoped his brother and Tenal Ka were strapped in because he doubted this was going to be a smooth ride.

          The moment he was free in the open air, the sensors started screaming at him.  Five A-wing fighters were giving chase after them.

          "Great, just what I need," he muttered.  For once, why couldn't a rescue operation go as planned?

          He put the ship into a few barrel rolls and other evasive maneuvers to prevent the fighters from getting a lock on them.  The supply ship had no weapons, and the shields probably wouldn't take more then a few hits before they collapsed.  The only chance they had was to outrun the fighters.

          His brother appeared at the door to the cockpit, and fell into the seat beside Anakin.  Tahiri had sat there on the way to Rygelia, but he couldn't think about that now.

          "Do you need a hand?"  Jacen asked.

          "No," Anakin replied without looking at him.  "There's no weapons, so we're just gonna have to make a run for it,"

          "What's after us?"  Jacen inquired.

          "Five A-wings,"

          Jacen shut up after that, knowing his younger brother needed to focus on getting them out of there alive.  Anakin was already distracted enough as it was, and Jacen didn't want him to make any mistakes.

          The A-wings were closing in on them now, but Anakin had gotten enough of a head start, that they were still unable to lock onto him.  He just needed a few more minutes and then they could escape Rygelia and jump to lightspeed. 

          Speed was not one of the small ship's greater attributes, and that was what allowed the first fighter to hit them.  The shot just grazed the hull, but Anakin knew there would be many more where that came from.

          He was flying without help from the force, something that he had never done, and was potentially dangerous because of the situation they were in.  He knew that the second he opened himself up to it he would be overloaded with emotions he was not yet ready to deal with. But he was going to have to do it if he wanted to prevent the fighters from hitting the ship again.

          Preparing himself for the worst, Anakin opened himself to the force.  He let out a loud gasp and his hands trembled on the controls, momentarily causing him to lose control of the ship.  Jacen shot him a worried look but said nothing.  That was good, because Anakin would not have been able to answer him anyways.

          Letting the force guide his movements, he managed to dodge another burst of laser fire and continued reaching for space. 

          Using the force may have helped to keep them alive, but it was a terrible experience for Anakin.  He was filled with a sense of emptiness that went even deeper then when Chewie had died.  He was finally able to understand what his father had gone through when he had made the decision to leave Sernpidal and Chewbacca.  If his father had been piloting, they would have all died.  His dad had not cared about the lives aboard his ship, not even his life had mattered.  He would have sacrificed everything just to save his best friend.  Anakin had wanted to do that too, and would have if his brother hadn't stopped him.

          They broke through Rygelia's atmosphere, the fighters hot on their tail.  Anakin keyed in a set of coordinates into the nav computer.  He would just have to hold off the A-wings for another minute and then they would be free.

          He continued evading the enemy fighters, taking them farther away from Rygelia, but his concentration was breaking and the laser fire was beginning to pound against the ship's hull.  He knew that he should be focused on getting them out of there, but at the moment he couldn't find the energy to care.  Tahiri was gone.  That was all he could think about.  He was never going to hear her laugh again or hear her voice rambling on about a million different things at once.  He was never going to see her beautiful face smiling at him, with those brilliant green eyes of hers.  It was all gone now.  His best friend was gone, and the further he took them away from Rygelia, the deeper the ache in his heart got.

          Finally, with the fighters bearing down and blasting away at them, the counter on the nav computer reached zero.  Before the shields could buckle anymore under the assault, they jumped to lightspeed.

          The minute they were safe in hyperspace, Anakin got up and left the cockpit without a word to his brother.  He marched right by Tenal Ka, looking for a place where he could be alone.  There were no cabins in the supply ship but there was a storage room in the back.  He walked in there, and locked the door behind him.  He refused to come out until Jacen came by to announce that they had landed on Chandrilla.

Before you start sending me flames, just remember that there will be a sequel (HINT HINT).