As soon as Kyp and Jaina cleared the landing ramp, they had to dive for cover as a flight of coral skippers flew overhead, firing from their plasma canons at the team of commandos and the two Jedi. Their shuttle had landed in a small clearing in a dense forest near one of the cities, the pilot hoping that the plants and vegetation would hide the transport better. Judging from the four coral skippers that were attempting to erase them from existence, his plan hadn't succeeded.
Jaina landed gracefully, flipping over and coming up in a low crouch position, her lightsaber out, but not yet ignited due to her desire to keep the Vong from knowing there were Jedi on the ground. She saw Kyp in the same position five meters to the left. She caught his eye, and at his nod, they leapt back in a Force-aided jump, somersaulting over some bushes into the thick forest. The commandos, there to protect and assist civilians in their evacuation, were on their own now, without the Jedi's help.
Kyp and Jaina ran silently through the forest, using their link through the Force if communication was absolutely necessary. They didn't know whether the Vong already had agents in place, and didn't want to alert any of them in case they did. As the forest became more and more sparsely populated with trees, sounds of battle grew louder and louder, reaching their peak as Jaina and Kyp cleared the forest to come to the outskirts of a Chiss city.
Jaina watched Kyp as he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, almost entering a trance like state for a few seconds. He opened his eyes and shook his head. "I get nothing from the Force, no direction or feelings at all." He turned to regard Jaina. "Which way do you want to go?"
Jaina stopped and focused all her energy to her task. "Jag's over there," she said, pointing in the north-east direction.
"Not the question I asked."
Jaina exchanged another glance with him, before falling into the Force again, this time not searching, but open to suggestion. She almost immediately received a clear picture of a hangar, and a feeling that she should head west. She sighed. "I need to go west."
Kyp turned to the west, surveying the site. "So we'll go west." He started to walk, but Jaina grabbed his arm.
"Jag's over there." She pointed north-east again, where she could clearly sense Jag's bright presence through their bond.
Kyp stared at her. "I don't believe this. Your priorities are really messed up, do you know that?"
Jaina rolled her eyes at him. "Explain that."
"Why are we really here, Jaina? Are we here because the Force guided you, or is this all about Jag?"
"Does it matter?" Jaina countered.
"Of course it matters! The ends never justify the means!" Kyp told her, waving a finger in her face. "You are helping defend this planet from a vicious attack. That's all well and good, if only it was your motive. You are here for your own selfish reasons, and that, my apprentice, is the dark side."
"I'm getting tired of all these lessons, Kyp," Jaina said, using his first name to undermine his attempts to remind her that she was training under him. "What did you hope to accomplish here?"
Kyp looked at her for a minute, his mouth opening and closing several times. "You need help, Jaina. The truth is, the Force did guide you here, but it wasn't for Jag. I need to be here to make you realize that," he finally said. "Besides, your father would kill me if anything happened to you."
Jaina just shook her head. "Fine, whatever, but I'm not changing my mind; I need o find Jag. Now, the only question is," Jaina stopped, locking eyes with Kyp. She almost smiled, remembering a similar conversation she had with Tahiri a few weeks earlier. "The only question is whether we both go find Jag, or if you go."
"If you think I'm leaving you alone, you better be drunk, because I seriously hope that's not an idea you had when you were sober."
"Okay, so we're both going after Jag?" Jaina asked sweetly.
Kyp sighed and shook his head. "Fine, you win. I'll go find your boyfriend, you go save the world."
"I always do." Jaina smiled lopsidedly, an expression she inherited from her father.
"Right." Kyp took off towards the north-east, where Jaina had pointed to earlier. He looked over his shoulder as he ran. "And Jaina, this conversation about your motives and the dark side will be picked up again."
"Yes, master," Jaina yelled over her own shoulder, taking of towards the west. "I'll just add it to the list, then!"
After the fourth time circling the building grounds, Jag had to concede that there was no possible way out, other than the two gates. The problem with that is, Jag though to himself, is that the Vong also know this. At least the Vong warriors weren't taking any immediate interest in them, besides a few thud bugs that were thrown at them once in a while. The warriors were just preventing their escape, for the time being, and were trying to find some way inside the government building. Jag leaned back and risked a glance off the enemy to look at the back seat. "Any luck back there?"
"Well, I'm going to be able to start a very large bank account with all the loose credit chips I'm finding back here," Tarion's voice came back muffled. Jag saw him leaning all the way under the back seat. "But, unless you want to throw those, there aren't any useful weapons."
Jag sighed, not liking what he was hearing. He pulled out his comlink, staring at it for a short moment. It's my duty. All that matters is that they be safe. Trying to compose himself again, he dialed his father's frequency.
"Fel here." His fathers voice came back clearly and loudly, so even Tarion heard it. He straightened up and leaned in closer to Jag so he could hear what was going on.
Jag closed his eyes. "Sir-- Father, it's Jag. We've-- We've got some problems. I don't think we're going to make it back to you." He felt Tarion tense up behind him, and silently cursed himself for taking his brother with him. I should have made him stay with the rest of the family! Damn it, he doesn't deserve this. He's not even part of the blasted war!
Jag's comlink was silent for a moment, before his fathers distraught voice came through again. "Jagged, where are you? We'll bring the Glory around--"
"Father!" Jagged screamed with more force than he originally intended to; he threw the speeder into a sharp turn, and the force that slammed into his chest made him raise his voice unintentionally. "There is no point! Just pack in as many refugees as you can, and blast out of here. I--I'm sorry we can't fly cover for you."
"Jagged--!"
Jag shut off his comlink, and threw it to the passenger side. A moment, Tarion moved back to the front of the speeder. Jag risked a glance in his direction, and was surprised to see that his brother was neither grim nor sad. "I'm sorry you're here."
Tarion looked over at him. "I didn't think I was that annoying."
Jag smirked despite the situation. "You know what I meant."
"Sure. I'm sorry I'm here, too." The brothers broke into shaky laughter. Tarion sobered up first. "You know, I think we're going to be the only people in history of this galaxy that laugh about their impending doom."
"Well, I always wanted to go down in history for something, albeit I didn't really want it to be for the way I die, but you take what you can get."
Tarion started laughing again, but had to stop to dive down as a thud bug blazed through the open speeder, narrowly missing their heads. The Yuuzhan Vong had stopped taking interest in opening the building, and had apparently decided to rid the galaxy of the Fel brothers. Another thud bug buzzed their speeder, but Jag was able to avoid it.
Tarion pointed at a group of Vong by the back entrance. "Look, I think they're using us to train warriors!"
Jag looked over, and saw a large Vong warrior give something to a slightly smaller one, and point over to their speeder, giving some instructions. "Great. Now we're target practice."
"Well, that's good news," Tarion said. "At least, the new guy might not be as good a marksman as -- Whoa!"
Tarion never got to finish his sentence as Jag tried to veer away unsuccessfully from the thud bug thrown by the apparent novice. The bug hit the speeder head on, already chewing through the metal on impact. Before they knew what was happening, Jag and Tarion were both thrown from the speeder as the bug chewed through the engine, damaging the equalizer systems. On the bright side, Jag noticed when he picked himself up off the ground, the thud bug wouldn't be causing them any immediate harm; it had been electrocuted by the engine. But that was small comfort, considering the six Vong warriors running up to the speeder to finish the job.
Jaina opened up to the Force as soon as she left Kyp, giving it complete control over her actions. The Force surged through her, and she numbly realized at the back of her mind that it had been a long time since she had done that. The last time I even remember falling in like this was in Lando's Folly, before this whole war ever started. Ever since the war, she had been unable or unwilling to do so, always wanting to remain in some control over her actions. However, right now, it felt important to trust the Force.
She walked into a deserted street, keeping her senses open to everything going on around her. The streets were filled with little houses, buildings, and alleyways, but no people could be seen. Or felt. There's nothing alive left here. Jaina could only hope that the people that occupied these houses had fled, not died.
Jaina's danger sense flickered a second before a Vong warrior leaped out of one of the alleys and tried to take her head of with his amphistaff. With the advance warning, Jaina easily blocked the attack. The Vong screamed something in his own language as Jaina calmly parried another shot. She dropped down to one knee and swung her other leg out, swiping the Vong's legs out from under him. Jaina straightened and attempted to drive her lightsaber through the warriors throat, but he was able to roll out of the way. He quickly pushed himself up off the ground, and took a defensive stance a few meters away from Jaina. He shouted something in his own language again, but this time it wasn't directed at Jaina. Jaina quickly glanced around to see if the warrior had reinforcements, but saw nothing.
She threw herself back in the fight again.
One second ago, Jag was sure he was going to die very soon. Then, three things happened. One, Jag heard the familiar sound of a lightsaber igniting. Two, an invisible force picked up Jag's speeder and threw it at the Vong warriors, pinning them roughly against the wall. Three, Kyp Durron's blurry shape emerged from out of nowhere to quickly dispatch of the now defenseless Vong. In one second, it was all over.
Kyp shut down his violet blade. "Remind me again, Jag. How many times have I saved your life now?"
"Just... put it on my tab," Jag said, picking himself up off the ground. He turned to help his brother up. "Tarion, this is Jedi Master Kyp Durron. Kyp, this is my brother."
Kyp nodded at Tarion, before turning back to face Jag. "We have to go. I have a feeling your girlfriend is going to get herself in some trouble very soon."
"Where is she?"
Kyp closed his eyes, slowly spinning his head towards the south end of the town. "She'd over there," he said, pointing. "She had a feeling in the Force that she had to be there."
Tarion and Jag exchanged glances. "That's the spaceport."
"That's where the Morning Glory is."
Czulkang Lah didn't like the way this battle was unfolding. This species, these Chiss, were putting up a surprisingly good fight, and the addition of the infidels largest triangle ship wasn't helping the Vong situation. He briefly thought about the idea of simply destroying this planet as Ithor had been destroyed. That, however, would kill all life, and the Yuuzhan Vong would need slaves once they took this planet. He still had the upper hand in this fight.
"Commander." Czulkang turned at the sound of his aide's voice. "A warrior on the ground is attempting to hail your villip. He wishes to speak with you."
"Bring me my villip, then. I'll deal with it," Czulkang answered. I hope, for the sake of this warrior, that what he has to tell me is of interest.
His aide returned with the appropriate villip, and he stroked it. The villip inverted, and showed a face Czulkang didn't recognize. "Commander."
"This better be of importance," Czulkang said coldly. "A battle is no time for conversation."
The warrior visibly stopped to collect himself. "Commander, a Jeedai was spotted on the ground. My kinsman fought her, and assured me that it was Jaina Solo herself. I would have stayed to help with the fight, but I felt I would best serve the gods by bringing you this information."
Czulkang listened intently. Jaina Solo, here. This might prove to be very useful. "You have done well. Now return to the fight, and may you bring glory to the gods." He stroked the villip, and signaled for his aide as it inverted. "Get me Foylebar Giil. Tell him it is time for his performance."
Listening to the Force for directions, Jaina found herself at landing pad 35, standing before two giant doors. She stretched out with the Force, and she could feel the presence of three in individuals behind the wall of durasteel. She knocked on the doors with the hilt of her lightsaber. Nothing happened.
Jaina ignited her blade, and walked over to the console, carefully slicing the covering off. Once the wires were exposed, she got to work, picking and pulling wires, trying to figure out which one opened the door. In a few minutes, she succeeded. She threw the wires back in the console and tried to make it look like it hadn't been tampered with. She smiled as she realized she wasn't succeeding.
Clipping her lightsaber back to her belt, she walked onto the landing pad, and a ship of the same design as Lando Calrissian's Lady Luck rested in the middle. She walked over to it, running a hand across the shiny hull. "Morning Glory," she murmured to herself.
"Admiring the ship?" Jaina jumped slightly as the male voice rang out in the hangar.
Jaina slowly turned around. She came face to face with a man about the same age as her father, perhaps a bit older. His blaster was pointed at her. "I'm not the enemy here." The man seemed vaguely familiar.
"Oh, I know. Force of habit, I guess." The man tucked the blaster back in the holster. "Jaina Solo, I presume?"
Jaina brought her head up. "I wasn't aware I was expected." A flicker in the Force told Jaina that danger was coming, and she quickly put herself between the man and the doors, using a Force-aided leap to propel her the needed distance. She had just pulled out her lightsaber when two Vong warriors ran into the landing pad, their amphistaffs raised above their heads in attack position. Jaina fell into the Force, and moved to intercept them.
Jaina barely remembered the fight as she stepped over the two dead Vong warriors. The Force is a powerful ally, she remembered the quote she had heard so much throughout her training. I haven't fought like this in years. Of course, I haven't trained in years either. I've almost forgotten the true power of the Force. She walked over to the man she had spoken to earlier. He was now joined by a women about the same age, tall and very pretty. And extremely familiar to Jaina.
The man turned to her. "I've never been so glad my son was dating a Jedi Knight."
Jaina blinked back her surprise, feeling foolish for not recognizing the family sooner. Jag had obviously inherited his features from both sides of his family, and Jaina had even seen countless holos with Syal Antilles and Baron Fel. She blushed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir, ma'am."
"Trust us, the pleasure is ours." Syal extended a hand to Jaina, and she shook it. "However, we hoped we would be meeting you under better circumstances."
Jaina laughed politely. "Do you know where Jagged is right now?"
Pain flashed across both their faces, and Jaina felt their fear and sadness hit her through the Force. Baron Fel began telling her a story, but she stopped paying attention. She immediately stretched out with her feelings to attempt to find Jag. To her relief, she found him safe at the moment, and felt Kyp nearby. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"... he shut of the transmission. We haven't heard from him since." Baron Fel finished his story. "We are hoping they will show up soon."
Jaina reassured them that Jag and his brother were safe at the moment, and on their way here. "How much room do you have on that ship?" She inquired, pointing at the Morning Glory.
"Quite a bit. I believe we can fit at least one hundred in there, if we need to."
"Good. We're going to need to round up refugees from around..." Jaina trailed off, a sudden wave of warning washing over her. She almost stumbled from the mental impact of the Force. She was unsure as to the actual message, but the meaning of it was clear; whatever Jaina had been sent here to do or accomplish, it was going to happen now. She held up a finger to silence the questions the Fels were asking her, and slowly walked outside the landing pad. There, in the middle of the deserted street stood a figure, shrouded in a hooded cloak. Jaina couldn't feel it in the Force. Assuming it was another Vong warrior, she pulled out her lightsaber again and began to walk over.
Then, the figure pulled out his own weapon, igniting a blue lightsaber blade. He pulled off his hood, and Jaina saw her opponent.
Jacen. And he was shielding in the Force.