/I'll handle this./Jacen mindlinked to the group/If I go silent in the Force briefly, do not be alarmed. I will explain when this is over./ He did not wait for a reply as he shifted his attention from the Force to his Vongsense and immediately began to probe the intruder's mind, starting with surface emotions, ready for action, but not wishing avoidable violence. He expected hostility, and was surprised when he found none. Instead, he found the ever-present vigilance to duty, and . . . confusion? Why would this agent be confused? Well, it seems that the situation calls for words and not hostility, Jacen reflected, relieved, as he switched his concentration back into the Force.
Valin spoke first, "Well, what is going on?"
Jacen replied, again via mindlink/Our infiltrator is not hostile towards us, so I will ask him what he's really up to./
/My love, is this not unnecessarily dangerous? His hostility could flare up with such a confrontation./ Tenel Ka's mental response showed some unease.
/I'd like to think the treaties the Vong signed with the Alliance are worth more than the paper they were written on./ His mental tone began to show his Corellian side/besides, worst case scenario, we have quite a few advantages.
By this time, "Butch's" confusion was growing exponentially, "Are you just gonna stand there all day, looking at each other, or are we gonna move?"
"We'll be ready shortly," Jacen answered, picking a likely rank for this warrior to be holding, "Subaltern."
He'd hit the proverbial nail on the head, and questions came a mile-a-minute "How do you know my rank? How did you pierce my cover? Has my mission been compromised?"
"I did not know your rank, I merely made an educated guess. As for your cover, Jedi can sense a Yuuzhan Vong operative with little trouble, but only through our use of the Force, so whatever your mission is, it's unlikely to be compromised." Jacen replied honestly, but phrased it such that the operative would think them neither weak, nor a threat. "Your turn, who are you really? What is your mission? Why were you here in the first place?"
"I am Subaltern Czuul Rapuung, and I am to assist the Jedi in your conflict with Kuat Drive Yards. I was placed here fifteen years ago to gather information, and carry out special missions when needed."
"I'm Jacen Solo, beastmaster and healer; the red-haired lady on my right is Tenel Ka Djo, our leader and weapons expert; the short guy is Valin Horn, IT specialist and handyman; Malinza Thanas, the woman holding his hand is our tactical advisor among other duties." Jacen introduced his group to their guide, each bowing slightly in respect.
"Are we ready to depart?" Czuul asked, getting back into the persona of Butch Kohl.
"We've been ready for hours." Malinza replied, impatient.
"What's that noise?" A sound rather like ten million distant window fans moving ever closer seemed to slowly build to ominous levels over the space of five minutes, and Malinza did not like it one bit.
Their guide replied, "Kyren!" His voice implied that he liked the situation even less.
"What are Kyren?" Jacen was intrigued with any new animal type, especially the more dangerous ones.
"Birds, each twice the size of a sparkbee, traveling in flocks of hundreds of millions, eating everything in their path. We're dead-center in their annual migration route, without cover for thirty kilometers." Czuul seemed defeated by their predicament.
"So, what, are we about to get a major dose of TRD from a bunch of birds?" Valin growled, defiant.
"Are we Jedi, or not? If escape is not possible, let us meet them head-on." The warrior inside Tenel Ka awoke, ready for anything.
"No flock of Kyren has ever been deliberately diverted." Czuul replied, "This is an exercise in futility."
"There is a first time for everything." Jacen seemed confident that the flock could be deflected around them.
"Never underestimate the impossible," Valin quoted, well aware of his father pulling victory from the jaws of defeat and using it to whack defeat upside the head.
"Group all mounts as close as possible, and remain in the saddle. We need to make as small of a profile as possible." Tenel Ka ordered, a plan galvanizing in her mind.
As they grouped up, both she and Jacen closed their eyes in concentration. /Are you ready, my love,/ she asked in the mindlink.
/Ready as I'll ever be, dearest./ His reply sent with it both confidence and tenderness.
Tenel Ka created a shimmering wall of Force energy that would cause anything that touched it to slide along it to the rear of the field, like a greased sled along snow.
Within seconds, the flock was upon them, but it split before encountering the shield. Jacen was convincing it to break hard to either side of the sparkling translucent barrier! Only a handful touched the yellow bubble, and slid as if they'd hit deck plating recently polished with butter.
After fifteen minutes that felt like fifteen years, the flock ended as abruptly as it had arrived.
Czuul spoke first, "Beastmaster, indeed. Even the wild animals heed your command."