Disclaimer: See the original chapter and all.
Author's note: To answer the question about Jacen. I don't know if you've read the entire NJO series yet, but in one book, Star by Star Jacen is captured by the Vong. In the course of the books everyone but Leia assumes that he is dead. He is discovered to be alive again in Destiny's Way. In my little AU'verse, my story is set post Rebel Dream with all of the events of Destiny's Way having taken place except for the fact of Jacen's return. My AU'verse doesn't include the events of Traitor. Destiny's Way is the same, just Jacen less. I'm sorry, I know that was confusing but I hope it helps some.
Kyp's grip on her arm as he almost dragged her out of there was painfully tight. As upset as she was, Jaina didn't put up a fight until they were outside of the reception.
"Let go of me, Kyp," she growled. Jedi Master or not, former partner or not, even Kyp would only get one warning from her.
"No, Goddess," he said firmly, "This has gotten to big. This isn't something that you can handle by yourself." He looked at her penetratingly. "You don't even realize that you were out of control in there, Jaina."
She put her feet down firmly, refusing to move. She glared pointedly down at her arm, as Kyp refused to let it go. A moment passed an then she was looking back up at Kyp. He met her gaze challengingly.
"Very well then."
It was like nothing Kyp had seen, felt, or even heard of before. It was as if a charge of pure energy had passed through her arm, burning into his skin like fire and acid. With a supremely controlled effort, Kyp met her eyes and refused to let go, gripping her arm even tighter. He thought he saw a flash of surprise in her eyes, but the pain in his hand simply intensified. Soon not even with Kyp's master of the Force, could he make his hand remain clamped around her arm. He let go with a gasp and took a step away from her.
"Are you out of your mind, Solo," he demanded, as he cradled his hand protectively.
She looked at him for a moment with an expression that Kyp couldn't interpret and then turned away.
He glanced down at his hand and was surprised, but relieved to see that it was visibly unhurt, although it still throbbed with the remnants of whatever Jaina had inflicted on it. "Jaina," he called after her, "Don't do this. I don't know what's wrong with you, but I will do whatever I have to stop this." He shook his head, "You don't even realize that you're not okay," he emphasized again.
She stopped walking and turned back to face him. Strangely her face was calm, not showing the least sign of anger. "You have no idea what I do or do not know, Kyp. Your problem is that you feel that you have to save everyone. Well whatever obligations you think you have or want to have to save me, don't even exist anymore. You haven't been my Jedi Master for years and you are certainly not my partner. That ended years ago and it never should have begun. So take care of yourself, Jedi Master, because I can and will take care of myself without you and certainly without Jagged Fel."
============================================================================ ====
The by now familiar, but still beautiful, landscape of the Nubian hillside unfolded around Jaina. After five years, she could summon and occasionally even banish her dream visits whenever she wished. Tonight she debated attempting to banish the dream, but in the end she didn't. It was the only calm in the storm that Jaina allowed herself to have from the constant pressure and horrors of the war. She was leery of it, though. It was a gift given to her by the Force, but it was one that she didn't want to use all that often. She had sensed the inherent danger of the place almost immediately. It could calm her tempestuous soul, but it could also ease away her finally honed mental edge. It was just as important as the fighting skills that she honed in the physical world.
She had found ways to combat that, however. Sparring with her grandfather, the man who had been Darth Vader, here in this environment had certainly been one of her better ideas. Tonight, though, it wasn't Anakin that she found, but Padme. She hadn't spent as much time with her grandmother as she had with her grandfather, but tonight seeing Padme's solitary presence somehow seemed more right than slipping off to speak with Anakin as she had planned.
"You haven't come to see us in quite some time," the hint of rebuke in Padme's voice made Jaina hesitate. It was true. She hadn't seen them before the incident with the Chimaera.
"I've," she hesitated and changed what she was going to say, "A lot has happened."
When Jaina finished explaining, Padme leaned back in her chair for a moment and then said softly, "You're so much like Ani."
Jaina grimaced, "That's not exactly comforting or reassuring," she replied sarcastically.
Padme rose to her feet abruptly. One thing Jaina had learned very soon after meeting her was that Padme was fiercely protective of her Anakin. She was also very adamant about the fact that Anakin Skywalker was not Darth Vader. "The man I married was not a bad man," she said sharply to Jaina. She lowered herself back into her seat and seemed to be looking into the past. "Anakin, even as a young boy, had a quick temper, which unfortunately, you seem to have inherited." She smiled at her only granddaughter, "You, however, have something that Anakin didn't."
She paused and Jaina could see a hint of long ago sadness and lingering guilt in Padme's eyes. "I couldn't be what Anakin needed. Nothing and no one could. The total corruption of the Old Republic and even the darkness that had begun to seep into the midst of the Jedi- even into the Jedi Council- kept Anakin bound by rules that he felt were holding him back. The rigid rules of the Council prohibited us from being honest about our marriage. It was the only decision that we could make," she said slowly, "And perhaps it was the wrong one. Or maybe it was merely the will of the Force. Whatever it was, our marriage helped Anakin for a time. He was calmer, more centered and focused in the lightside of the Force. Over time, though, Obi-wan became suspicious. We were afraid for each other if our secret was discovered and we were constantly lying. Fear, even in a situation like that, can leave a Jedi open to the darkside. Our love for one another was tainted by that darkness."
Padme focused intently on Jaina. "Anakin and I were caught in events far greater than us. Anakin's fate had already been sealed by the millennia old prophecy of the Chosen One. You have a choice." She kept talking as Jaina started to interrupt, "Yes, you have been named in a prophecy, as well. You serve as the Sword of the Jedi, but you still have a choice, a chance to alter your fate. The prophecy of the Sword of the Jedi was not uttered by my son because of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. It would have been your destiny regardless of the circumstances of the rest of the Galaxy. An anomaly, however, has been created in the Force. The Yuuzhan Vong are different. The Force is in all things. When one large element of the galaxy, like everything that is connected to the Yuuzhan Vong, is anomalous, then it has an effect on the entire nature of the Force. That was what your Anakin was beginning to understand," she added and both women were silent for a moment.
Jaina remembering a little brother, and Padme letting her daughter grieve in the one place where she could let her emotions be free.
"Jaina, you've been given a chance that Anakin and I never had. Let your pride and your anger go. Don't become what you fear the most."
Jaina looked away from Padme, but didn't comment on what she had said. When she looked up, her eyes were still troubled, but her face was clear. It bore a look that Padme recognized, one of pure mischief. She had after all, seen it on Anakin's face often enough when he was a Padawan and after he had first been knighted. Jaina flashed her a lopsided Solo grin, "Where did you gain all of this deep philosophical insight into the Force? You're starting to sound like Jacen."
Padme snorted, "I'm one with the Force, dear, I have nothing to do for the rest of eternity but be surrounded by the presence of all of the Jedi Masters that have ever been. How could I escape it?"
Jaina actually laughed in response, but her humor was short lived. She hugged Padme somewhat awkwardly. "Thank you......I think," she whispered quietly and then turned to walk away, eventually fading out of Padme's sight.
Padme watched for a moment longer, but couldn't keep the worry from her face. The choices that she, Padme, had made were still having repercussions on the galaxy. Her grandaughter's path would be no easier and her choices would be just as significant. Perhaps it wasn't enough, but all Padme could say was, "May the Force and your Jagged be with you, dear. You will need them both."
=======================================================================
The screech of alarms had Jaina snapping awake and flowing into a burst of motion long before her mind had caught up with her body. She pulled on her flight suit quickly, grabbing her blaster, comm. link and lightsaber as she ran out into the corridor. She was distantly pleased to see the other members of Twin Suns spilling out into the corridor before the members of the other squadrons. Jaina was jogging down the corridor as Esmen caught up with her.
"Any last minute orders, Goddess?"
Jaina shook her head. "No, not until we know what's going on. This could be something as simple as a diplomatic envoy that's coming in at an unscheduled time." Jaina paused for a moment, thinking ahead through everything that needed to be done. "Esmen," she said quickly a moment later, "Contact Karrde, now. Ask him for all of the information that he has on recent Vong movements. If this is something, I want to be informed."
Esmen was already pulling out her comm. link as Jaina's own comm. link started chirping. She activated it quickly with her free hand as she climbed into her x-wing cockpit. "Goddess here," she answered with preoccupation as she ran through a streamlined version of the normal preflight checks.
"Colonel Solo." Even over the comm. channel, Jaina had no problem recognizing the voice of Grand Admiral Pellaeon.
"What's the situation, Gilad," Jaina asked flicking the repulsorlifts on even as her cockpit was still closing.
"We have a situation, Jaina, and we need our best pilots out there to determine what we're facing. There was a small incursion in the outer edges of the system, but we need to know more before any of us commit our forces. You will be working with Colonel Fel of the Spike's and Master Durron and his Dozen." He hesitated for a split second as Jana half listened to her pilots checking in as they flew up to join her in their positions. "I believe you've worked with both of them before."
Jaina gritted her teeth, "Of course, Gilad."
"Very well then, Colonel. May the Force be with you."
Jaina flipped her comm. link off immediately and tuned to a general pilot frequency. She really didn't want to work with Kyp or Jag, but for the moment, she had no choice. There were, however, much worse squadron leaders that she could be forced to work with. She glanced at her threat board to confirm that Twin Suns had taken up its usual defensive formation. She had confidence that Esmen could handle the standard procedure of the squadron, after all it was her job as second-in-command. That would leave her free to have a quick and painfully terse conversation with Jag and Kyp about how they would approach this.
Their comments were all clipped, but within a matter of moments they had come up with a workable plan. The three of them had all been flying long enough to know that allowing personal grievances to get in the way of a fight could be a deadly mistake for all concerned. They were professionals and none would let something like that jeopardize their mission or their squadrons.
Together, the three of them had decided that Kyp's Dozen with its mix of various types of fighters would go in first to mislead the unknown presence by their thrown together appearance. Twin Suns would follow them in and the more maneuverable Spikes would hold their position outside of the engagement area in case Twin Suns and the Dozen ran into more trouble than they could handle.
Jaina called out orders to her squadron, breaking them up into flights and moving them into the formation that she wanted. She slipped into the Force, reaching out to the surroundings. Before she could fully slip into the flow of the area of space around her, the mottled rock like form of a Yuuzhan Vong ship slid into her view. It was about the same size as a Galactic Alliance Corvette class ship. She unconsciously touched her Force bond with Kyp and snatched the attack plans that he was calling out, from his mind.
Half a heartbeat later, she was calling out to her own squadron "Attack formation Delta 5, people. Let's follow the Dozen's lead on this one," she added.
The first flight of Kyp's squadron led by Kyp, himself, raked the hull of the Yuuzhan Vong ship with laser fire. Dovin Basal voids worked frantically to absorb the shots, but a few got by, causing small lava like eruptions in the hull. However no globules of molten plasma came hurtling back at the small flight of mismatched fighters and no grutchins descended on them like a great cloud to strip their shields.
A flurry of chatter hit the general squadron frequency and Jaina barked, "Can that chatter, Twins. Now! Maintain the formation, but back off five hundred meters." She flicked to another frequency in time to hear Kyp say, "Something's not right here."
"You mean because the Vong ship is not making any moves, aggressive or otherwise," Jaina said sarcastically.
"Something like that," Kyp agreed, unperturbed by her response.
"Maybe it's an ambush," Jag interjected. There was a moment of silence. If it was an ambush all they could do was be prepared. They had no way of knowing for certain until something happened.
Kyp broke the silence a moment later. "Pellaeon's been updated on the current situation. His orders are to hold our position, while he sends a tug. He wants to try to retrieve this ship."
"That could be what they want," Jaina murmured. "That Vong ship could contain explosives or some other dangerous booby trap that will be triggered when Pellaeon brings that thing in."
"It is Pellaeon's call," Kyp reminded them as his squadron took up flanking positions around the vessel in question.
Jaina just hoped that the space tug would be there soon. In situations like this one the whole squadron would be waiting, full of tension and restrained adrenaline until the situation was out of their hands. The potential for surprise or ambush was too great for them to relax and the mission was too boring for them to work off some of their restrained energy.
"Goddess, something's happening over here."
Jaina was almost glad to hear Brantur's voice. "What's the situation, Twin 4?" She asked immediately.
"Their lights or whatever the Vong biotech equivalent is called, are flashing over here in a repeating pattern of some kind. I ran them by my astromech and through my computer. I got nothing, but it definitely looks like some kind of signal."
"Send me the pattern," ordered Jaina. She studied it for a moment and then played it again. "Spike Leader, Dozen Leader, I think we might have some people on board that Vong ship. One of my pilots saw lights flashing in some kind of code on the other side of the ship. I can't decode it, but I'm almost certain that it's a Clone War era encryption code."
"Let me see it," Jag ordered sharply.
"What are you, an expert on old combat encryption codes now, Spike Leader," Jaina asked even as she sent the codes.
"Well maybe if you hadn't been so busy making out with your Jedi friend then you might have learned that my brother was a part of the task force that relocated the survivors of the Outbound Flight Project and that he taught me much about the military of that era."
He had barely finished speaking when an almost deafening squeal of static came over the frequency, silencing both of them. Kyp's voice followed it. "That's enough." His message was simple, but clear. "What does it say, Spike Leader?"
There was a pause and then Jaina's threat board was lit up, her proximity alarms screaming as two large Yuuzhan Vong vessels dropped out of hyperspace. Through all of the noise, Jaina only caught one word of what Jag had said. "Callista."
Please leave me a nice review for this chapter. They are all greatly appreciated.
Author's note: To answer the question about Jacen. I don't know if you've read the entire NJO series yet, but in one book, Star by Star Jacen is captured by the Vong. In the course of the books everyone but Leia assumes that he is dead. He is discovered to be alive again in Destiny's Way. In my little AU'verse, my story is set post Rebel Dream with all of the events of Destiny's Way having taken place except for the fact of Jacen's return. My AU'verse doesn't include the events of Traitor. Destiny's Way is the same, just Jacen less. I'm sorry, I know that was confusing but I hope it helps some.
Kyp's grip on her arm as he almost dragged her out of there was painfully tight. As upset as she was, Jaina didn't put up a fight until they were outside of the reception.
"Let go of me, Kyp," she growled. Jedi Master or not, former partner or not, even Kyp would only get one warning from her.
"No, Goddess," he said firmly, "This has gotten to big. This isn't something that you can handle by yourself." He looked at her penetratingly. "You don't even realize that you were out of control in there, Jaina."
She put her feet down firmly, refusing to move. She glared pointedly down at her arm, as Kyp refused to let it go. A moment passed an then she was looking back up at Kyp. He met her gaze challengingly.
"Very well then."
It was like nothing Kyp had seen, felt, or even heard of before. It was as if a charge of pure energy had passed through her arm, burning into his skin like fire and acid. With a supremely controlled effort, Kyp met her eyes and refused to let go, gripping her arm even tighter. He thought he saw a flash of surprise in her eyes, but the pain in his hand simply intensified. Soon not even with Kyp's master of the Force, could he make his hand remain clamped around her arm. He let go with a gasp and took a step away from her.
"Are you out of your mind, Solo," he demanded, as he cradled his hand protectively.
She looked at him for a moment with an expression that Kyp couldn't interpret and then turned away.
He glanced down at his hand and was surprised, but relieved to see that it was visibly unhurt, although it still throbbed with the remnants of whatever Jaina had inflicted on it. "Jaina," he called after her, "Don't do this. I don't know what's wrong with you, but I will do whatever I have to stop this." He shook his head, "You don't even realize that you're not okay," he emphasized again.
She stopped walking and turned back to face him. Strangely her face was calm, not showing the least sign of anger. "You have no idea what I do or do not know, Kyp. Your problem is that you feel that you have to save everyone. Well whatever obligations you think you have or want to have to save me, don't even exist anymore. You haven't been my Jedi Master for years and you are certainly not my partner. That ended years ago and it never should have begun. So take care of yourself, Jedi Master, because I can and will take care of myself without you and certainly without Jagged Fel."
============================================================================ ====
The by now familiar, but still beautiful, landscape of the Nubian hillside unfolded around Jaina. After five years, she could summon and occasionally even banish her dream visits whenever she wished. Tonight she debated attempting to banish the dream, but in the end she didn't. It was the only calm in the storm that Jaina allowed herself to have from the constant pressure and horrors of the war. She was leery of it, though. It was a gift given to her by the Force, but it was one that she didn't want to use all that often. She had sensed the inherent danger of the place almost immediately. It could calm her tempestuous soul, but it could also ease away her finally honed mental edge. It was just as important as the fighting skills that she honed in the physical world.
She had found ways to combat that, however. Sparring with her grandfather, the man who had been Darth Vader, here in this environment had certainly been one of her better ideas. Tonight, though, it wasn't Anakin that she found, but Padme. She hadn't spent as much time with her grandmother as she had with her grandfather, but tonight seeing Padme's solitary presence somehow seemed more right than slipping off to speak with Anakin as she had planned.
"You haven't come to see us in quite some time," the hint of rebuke in Padme's voice made Jaina hesitate. It was true. She hadn't seen them before the incident with the Chimaera.
"I've," she hesitated and changed what she was going to say, "A lot has happened."
When Jaina finished explaining, Padme leaned back in her chair for a moment and then said softly, "You're so much like Ani."
Jaina grimaced, "That's not exactly comforting or reassuring," she replied sarcastically.
Padme rose to her feet abruptly. One thing Jaina had learned very soon after meeting her was that Padme was fiercely protective of her Anakin. She was also very adamant about the fact that Anakin Skywalker was not Darth Vader. "The man I married was not a bad man," she said sharply to Jaina. She lowered herself back into her seat and seemed to be looking into the past. "Anakin, even as a young boy, had a quick temper, which unfortunately, you seem to have inherited." She smiled at her only granddaughter, "You, however, have something that Anakin didn't."
She paused and Jaina could see a hint of long ago sadness and lingering guilt in Padme's eyes. "I couldn't be what Anakin needed. Nothing and no one could. The total corruption of the Old Republic and even the darkness that had begun to seep into the midst of the Jedi- even into the Jedi Council- kept Anakin bound by rules that he felt were holding him back. The rigid rules of the Council prohibited us from being honest about our marriage. It was the only decision that we could make," she said slowly, "And perhaps it was the wrong one. Or maybe it was merely the will of the Force. Whatever it was, our marriage helped Anakin for a time. He was calmer, more centered and focused in the lightside of the Force. Over time, though, Obi-wan became suspicious. We were afraid for each other if our secret was discovered and we were constantly lying. Fear, even in a situation like that, can leave a Jedi open to the darkside. Our love for one another was tainted by that darkness."
Padme focused intently on Jaina. "Anakin and I were caught in events far greater than us. Anakin's fate had already been sealed by the millennia old prophecy of the Chosen One. You have a choice." She kept talking as Jaina started to interrupt, "Yes, you have been named in a prophecy, as well. You serve as the Sword of the Jedi, but you still have a choice, a chance to alter your fate. The prophecy of the Sword of the Jedi was not uttered by my son because of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. It would have been your destiny regardless of the circumstances of the rest of the Galaxy. An anomaly, however, has been created in the Force. The Yuuzhan Vong are different. The Force is in all things. When one large element of the galaxy, like everything that is connected to the Yuuzhan Vong, is anomalous, then it has an effect on the entire nature of the Force. That was what your Anakin was beginning to understand," she added and both women were silent for a moment.
Jaina remembering a little brother, and Padme letting her daughter grieve in the one place where she could let her emotions be free.
"Jaina, you've been given a chance that Anakin and I never had. Let your pride and your anger go. Don't become what you fear the most."
Jaina looked away from Padme, but didn't comment on what she had said. When she looked up, her eyes were still troubled, but her face was clear. It bore a look that Padme recognized, one of pure mischief. She had after all, seen it on Anakin's face often enough when he was a Padawan and after he had first been knighted. Jaina flashed her a lopsided Solo grin, "Where did you gain all of this deep philosophical insight into the Force? You're starting to sound like Jacen."
Padme snorted, "I'm one with the Force, dear, I have nothing to do for the rest of eternity but be surrounded by the presence of all of the Jedi Masters that have ever been. How could I escape it?"
Jaina actually laughed in response, but her humor was short lived. She hugged Padme somewhat awkwardly. "Thank you......I think," she whispered quietly and then turned to walk away, eventually fading out of Padme's sight.
Padme watched for a moment longer, but couldn't keep the worry from her face. The choices that she, Padme, had made were still having repercussions on the galaxy. Her grandaughter's path would be no easier and her choices would be just as significant. Perhaps it wasn't enough, but all Padme could say was, "May the Force and your Jagged be with you, dear. You will need them both."
=======================================================================
The screech of alarms had Jaina snapping awake and flowing into a burst of motion long before her mind had caught up with her body. She pulled on her flight suit quickly, grabbing her blaster, comm. link and lightsaber as she ran out into the corridor. She was distantly pleased to see the other members of Twin Suns spilling out into the corridor before the members of the other squadrons. Jaina was jogging down the corridor as Esmen caught up with her.
"Any last minute orders, Goddess?"
Jaina shook her head. "No, not until we know what's going on. This could be something as simple as a diplomatic envoy that's coming in at an unscheduled time." Jaina paused for a moment, thinking ahead through everything that needed to be done. "Esmen," she said quickly a moment later, "Contact Karrde, now. Ask him for all of the information that he has on recent Vong movements. If this is something, I want to be informed."
Esmen was already pulling out her comm. link as Jaina's own comm. link started chirping. She activated it quickly with her free hand as she climbed into her x-wing cockpit. "Goddess here," she answered with preoccupation as she ran through a streamlined version of the normal preflight checks.
"Colonel Solo." Even over the comm. channel, Jaina had no problem recognizing the voice of Grand Admiral Pellaeon.
"What's the situation, Gilad," Jaina asked flicking the repulsorlifts on even as her cockpit was still closing.
"We have a situation, Jaina, and we need our best pilots out there to determine what we're facing. There was a small incursion in the outer edges of the system, but we need to know more before any of us commit our forces. You will be working with Colonel Fel of the Spike's and Master Durron and his Dozen." He hesitated for a split second as Jana half listened to her pilots checking in as they flew up to join her in their positions. "I believe you've worked with both of them before."
Jaina gritted her teeth, "Of course, Gilad."
"Very well then, Colonel. May the Force be with you."
Jaina flipped her comm. link off immediately and tuned to a general pilot frequency. She really didn't want to work with Kyp or Jag, but for the moment, she had no choice. There were, however, much worse squadron leaders that she could be forced to work with. She glanced at her threat board to confirm that Twin Suns had taken up its usual defensive formation. She had confidence that Esmen could handle the standard procedure of the squadron, after all it was her job as second-in-command. That would leave her free to have a quick and painfully terse conversation with Jag and Kyp about how they would approach this.
Their comments were all clipped, but within a matter of moments they had come up with a workable plan. The three of them had all been flying long enough to know that allowing personal grievances to get in the way of a fight could be a deadly mistake for all concerned. They were professionals and none would let something like that jeopardize their mission or their squadrons.
Together, the three of them had decided that Kyp's Dozen with its mix of various types of fighters would go in first to mislead the unknown presence by their thrown together appearance. Twin Suns would follow them in and the more maneuverable Spikes would hold their position outside of the engagement area in case Twin Suns and the Dozen ran into more trouble than they could handle.
Jaina called out orders to her squadron, breaking them up into flights and moving them into the formation that she wanted. She slipped into the Force, reaching out to the surroundings. Before she could fully slip into the flow of the area of space around her, the mottled rock like form of a Yuuzhan Vong ship slid into her view. It was about the same size as a Galactic Alliance Corvette class ship. She unconsciously touched her Force bond with Kyp and snatched the attack plans that he was calling out, from his mind.
Half a heartbeat later, she was calling out to her own squadron "Attack formation Delta 5, people. Let's follow the Dozen's lead on this one," she added.
The first flight of Kyp's squadron led by Kyp, himself, raked the hull of the Yuuzhan Vong ship with laser fire. Dovin Basal voids worked frantically to absorb the shots, but a few got by, causing small lava like eruptions in the hull. However no globules of molten plasma came hurtling back at the small flight of mismatched fighters and no grutchins descended on them like a great cloud to strip their shields.
A flurry of chatter hit the general squadron frequency and Jaina barked, "Can that chatter, Twins. Now! Maintain the formation, but back off five hundred meters." She flicked to another frequency in time to hear Kyp say, "Something's not right here."
"You mean because the Vong ship is not making any moves, aggressive or otherwise," Jaina said sarcastically.
"Something like that," Kyp agreed, unperturbed by her response.
"Maybe it's an ambush," Jag interjected. There was a moment of silence. If it was an ambush all they could do was be prepared. They had no way of knowing for certain until something happened.
Kyp broke the silence a moment later. "Pellaeon's been updated on the current situation. His orders are to hold our position, while he sends a tug. He wants to try to retrieve this ship."
"That could be what they want," Jaina murmured. "That Vong ship could contain explosives or some other dangerous booby trap that will be triggered when Pellaeon brings that thing in."
"It is Pellaeon's call," Kyp reminded them as his squadron took up flanking positions around the vessel in question.
Jaina just hoped that the space tug would be there soon. In situations like this one the whole squadron would be waiting, full of tension and restrained adrenaline until the situation was out of their hands. The potential for surprise or ambush was too great for them to relax and the mission was too boring for them to work off some of their restrained energy.
"Goddess, something's happening over here."
Jaina was almost glad to hear Brantur's voice. "What's the situation, Twin 4?" She asked immediately.
"Their lights or whatever the Vong biotech equivalent is called, are flashing over here in a repeating pattern of some kind. I ran them by my astromech and through my computer. I got nothing, but it definitely looks like some kind of signal."
"Send me the pattern," ordered Jaina. She studied it for a moment and then played it again. "Spike Leader, Dozen Leader, I think we might have some people on board that Vong ship. One of my pilots saw lights flashing in some kind of code on the other side of the ship. I can't decode it, but I'm almost certain that it's a Clone War era encryption code."
"Let me see it," Jag ordered sharply.
"What are you, an expert on old combat encryption codes now, Spike Leader," Jaina asked even as she sent the codes.
"Well maybe if you hadn't been so busy making out with your Jedi friend then you might have learned that my brother was a part of the task force that relocated the survivors of the Outbound Flight Project and that he taught me much about the military of that era."
He had barely finished speaking when an almost deafening squeal of static came over the frequency, silencing both of them. Kyp's voice followed it. "That's enough." His message was simple, but clear. "What does it say, Spike Leader?"
There was a pause and then Jaina's threat board was lit up, her proximity alarms screaming as two large Yuuzhan Vong vessels dropped out of hyperspace. Through all of the noise, Jaina only caught one word of what Jag had said. "Callista."
Please leave me a nice review for this chapter. They are all greatly appreciated.