Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Jaina and Jag were running all out through the corridors of the Star Destroyer, heading towards the ship's control center as fast as they could. They had been scheduled to arrive at Bastion today, but they hadn't left hyperspace. They had been pulled from hyperspace and that almost always meant trouble.

Jag slammed bodily into a Tech going around the corner in the opposite direction and almost fell. Jaina caught his arm quickly, steadied him and pulled him back towards their destination. They made it to the turbolift a moment later, barely out of breath from their sprint through the ship. As the turbolift finally slid to a halt moments later, Jaina hardly even noticed that she had unconsciously reached over to take Jag's hand in her own as they stepped off of the turbolift.

She glanced quickly around the control center, looking for the officer in charge. To her relief that happened to be Captain Slarne for this shift. "What's our situation, Captain," she asked quickly as they approached him together. But before he could even speak, she could feel the tiny shivers that indicated weapons impacting against the Star Destroyer's shields and hull.

"Dovin Basal mines pulled us out of space, Colonel. The Vong were waiting for us when we came out of hyperspace. 'Skips are practically swarming us, but so far the rest of the fleet is hanging back."

Jaina glanced quickly at the large holographic projections that displayed the surrounding area of space and showed the current tactical situation, but Jag was already asking. "Have you been able to contact Palleaon or the rest of the fleet that's at Bastion? We're only in the outer edges of the Solar system."

Slarne shook his head once, sharply. "We're trying, Goddess, but it doesn't look good. The Vong have probably already jammed the frequencies."

She and Jag shared a quick glance. It was all that was necessary for them to silently converse and agree on their course of action. She switched her gaze back to the Captain. "Captain, deploy whatever squadrons of fighters that we have left to deal with the skips, but keep the other ships back until we see the rest of what we're facing." She looked back at Jag. "You'll take what's left of Twin Suns with the Spike's," she half-asked, half-informed him.

"I will."

She hesitated. She wanted to go with Jag, to fly his wing through this fight, but she also knew that she needed to stay there to coordinate the fighting on a larger scale.

Before she could voice her momentary hesitation, however, Jag was already nodding in agreement. "You'll have to coordinate things from here, Jaina," he said quickly, his mind thinking through the battle ahead as she was beginning to. He stopped a moment later and looked at Jaina. In that moment, his full focus was on her and not the chaos surrounding them or the battle before them. He moved closer to her, until there was no distance between them and kissed her gently. As he pulled away from the kiss, he whispered softly, so that only she could hear him, "I love you." His next steps carried him into the turbolift.

Jaina turned quickly back to Slarne as Jag left, her body language almost daring him to comment. "How many Vong ships are we facing, Captain," she asked him, moving closer to the holographic display in front of her as it lit up.

"It's not the largest fleet that we've faced, Goddess, but it is one of the most dangerous," he supplied as she studied the formations around them.After all of the years of fighting the Vong, their biotechnology hadly seemed unfamiliar to her anymore.

Jacen?

She called to her brother through the Force. There was a good chance that his insights into the Yuuzhan Vong could help her and make a definite difference in this fight. She felt Jacen reach back towards her mind and his acknowledgement of her mental call. He was coming.

"Goddess," Slarne's sharp call drew her attention quickly back to the holorepresentation of the fighting. As she had been preoccupied, the Vong had begun to rapidly close in on the smaller Insider's fleet. Two edges of the Vong fleet led the way in a U-shaped formation that left Jaina worried. There was something about it...

In the next instant, she had her answer and Jaina swore violently as a Vong vessel dropped out of hyperspace, filling the empty position between the leading edges of the fleet. It was the monstrous vessel that had killed Kyp. Jacen had since told her that, that vessel was Shimrra's equivalent of a flagship and Jaina was immediately certain that the Supreme Overlord was aboard it.

Somehow the Supreme Overlord had discovered their destination and arrived before them. It wasn't something that Jaina had anticipated, but she almost immediately saw it as an opportunity. It was dangerous to the point of being suicidal, but if Shimrra could be killed or captured, it could be a pivotal turning point in the war.

She would need to get a message to Palleaon, however, and that would mean that the messenger would have to pass sucessfuly through the entire Vong fleet. There was only one pilot, besides herself, that she knew would be capable of it. "Slarne," she said quickly, "I want to destroy as much of that Vong fleet as we can." She looked at him meaningfully. "Use whatever you have to, but I don't want that vessel," she pointed at the large tentacled vessel on the holodisplay, "to survive. Shimrra is on board."

He nodded at her gravely, "Understood, Goddess," and she realized that he really did understand. He was a lifetime soldier. He had grown up during the end of the Clone Wars and survived the war against the Empire. He certainly understood the necessity of battle all too well. She returned his nod and turned away, plucking her comlink off of her belt. She quickly tuned it to one of her preset frequencies and waited.

An instant later a burst of static hissed back at her quickly followed by Jag's tense voice. "Jaina? What's happening?" He asked quickly.

"Shimrra's here," she said bluntly.

He responded tersely, "I know."

In other less life threatening circumstance, she might have found his reply slightly amusing, as it was it only increased her desire to be ou there flying beside him. "Palleaon needs to know that it's Shimrra. He has to be stopped here, Jag. It could determine the fate of the war."

As they talked, she had picked Jag out of the mass of starfighters, pinpointing his location as he dueled with skips. She watched him in silence, waiting for his reply. Seconds seemed to turn into centuries. She was almost hoping that he would refuse, but she knew that he wouldn't. Jagged Fel would never back down from what had to be done.

"Frequencies are jammed," he asked quickly as he evaded a skip, dancing out of the way of molten plasma in a way that had to be infuriating to the skip hunting him.

"They are," she replied quickly.

"I'll deliver the message," he responded without a hesitating.

"Thank you," she paused, "Jag," she didn't finish her sentence. What could she say to him? He knew without a doubt that she loved him and she refused to say goodbye to him. In the end, she said the only thing that she could and hoped that it would be enough. "May the Force be with you."

She studied the holodisplay for an instant, following Jag with her eyes, trying to predict his moves before they were made.

"Jaina?" She recognized Jacen's voice and the distinctive ripple of emotion that poured off of the bridge crew as they registed his presence. It was a sense of fear and not quite animosity. Jaina wished that she could deal with it now, but it wasn't the time. She slipped one arm through his, as she turned away from watching Jag's progress, and drew him closer to her and the holodisplay. She gestured to it with a wave of her free hand.

"Shimrra's here. His fleet pulled us out of hyperspace at the edge of the Bastion system and he's cut communication between us and Palleaon. We're tring to get a message through to him. I want to go after Shimrra." She looked over at him. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Don't do this," was Jacen's immediate reply. "He will destroy this fleet and then take Bastion."

"We are doing this," she retorted, "And if we pull back now, he'll still take Bastion. The only question is whether you'll help us or not."

He hesitated.

"Goddess, I think you may need to hear this," Slarne's voice pulled her attention away from Jacen, but she didn't turn to face him.

"What is it," she asked quickly. In response an audio clip began to play from all of the speakers on the bridge.

"I, Shimrra, Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong, command you, Infidels and Jedaii, give me the Solo twins. I have come for them and they will be mine. Give them to me and I will not crush your worthless world."

The voice stopped and Slarned added into the silence, "It was also broadcast to the Imperials."

"He's lying," Jacen spoke up abruptly, but his voice was distant, as if he wasn't entirely focused. It worried Jaina.

"I know," she responded, "And Palleaon knows, too, but he may have no choice."

"I know how to stop this." Jacen's voice was steady and grim. It almost worried her more than it had before.

"What's your plan," she asked him quickly, but he only shook his head.

"Do you really trust me?" It was a question that she hadn't expected, but could honestly answer without hesitation.

"Yes."

"Then you have to let me do this, Jaina. It feels so right." He was talking quickly then, abut dreams and visions and Jaina couldn't understand him.

"Goddess, incoming!" Slarne's voice was raised almost in a yell.

She turned sharply back towards Slarne, glancing at the tactical situation. Jacen watched, slipping back into the shadows of the room, as Jaina began issuing orders and rearranging the forces that she commanded. He watched her and saw the strategy that she was beginning to pull together. It was bold and brilliant, but it wasn't good enough, not to accomplish what Jaina wanted to do. He spared one last glimpse at his sister, and then turned away.

In the confusion aboard the Star Destroyer, it was easy for Jacen to slip down to the hangar bay. It was even easier for him to commandeer a small, and severly damaged b-wing. It was beyond use, but it would suit his purposes and after all he wouldn't be using it to fight the Vong.

It took him two tries to start the engines, and it was only once the b-wing was in motion that the maintenance crews in the hangar bay noticed him. There was nothing that they could do to stop him then, however, and Jacen barely noticed their curses and shrieks of protest, as he maneuvered the craft out of the Star Destroyer and into space.

Stray laser fire, torpedoes, molten plasma, debris from damaged or destroyed fighters and huge hunks of ruined coral spun through the midst of the area where the battle still raged. Jacen dove into the heart of the destruction, intent on his goal. He watched only the slashing tentacles and destructive maw that destroyed everything in its path, and when he was in the heart of the fighting he stopped, letting the b-wing drift. With one hand he opened the b-wing's comm unit to broadcast on all frequencies. He took a deep breath and then spoke. His words rang with power.

"Shimrra, Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong, favored of the Gods, blessed of Yun Yuuzhan and Yun Yammka, I, Jacen Solo, challenge you to a duel to the death."

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