Part 10
As Ben waited for the sight of his comrades, he heard an unfamiliar language over his channels. He was about to chide his comrades for talking behind his back when he realized that the voice was female.
"Looks like we got a witty traitor on our hands." Ben heard Seven say in Basic after a he a string of incomprehensible words. He glanced at the Hapan starfighter beside him.
"Watch your mouth, Seven!" Another Hapan boy shouted over the comlink. More foreign words played over the comlink.
"Could somebody tell me what is going on? Apparently, you all know more than I do." The Jedi has had enough of all the talk behind his back.
"Oh, Hapan affairs, nothing more than a traitor who gave away our speech. Our queen will take care of it. This kinda stuff happens all the time on our planet." Seven told Ben in Basic.
"I still don't get it. What happened?" Ben, confused by Seven's answer, asked.
"Somebody had the nerve to translate that threat into our native language and then Seven said something he I'm not gonna say."
-scene change-
"Very good, you have passed the first test." Nuren Lah complimented when her Ferroan student maneuvered his through her obstacle course and shot every target she set up. A sense of mixed awe a disbelief fell over the Shamed woman, even though she had been training up an army of Yuuzhan Vong heretics and Ferroans for several years. Perhaps ironically, it was not working alongside Tahiri Veila, the Jeedai who was shaped, for years that had surprised the aged Yuuzhan Vong.
The shock did not come from working with the Jeedai for having a Jeedai son influenced her view of the group. Rather, the scarred and tattooed woman could hardly believe that she was teaching. Doing this alone, now that Tahiri Veila is on her way to her fellow Jeedai. Then again, this is what retired officers do and I suppose being Shamed means retiring. She thought, considering her distant uncle Czulkang Lah.
Nuren Lah's thoughts were interrupted when the image of her least favorite warmaster appeared abruptly on each display in the room. The elderly Yuuzhan Vong clenched her fists and allowed a low growl as she heard the threat. Then, with her wrinkled and scarred hands, Nuren Lah stroked every available villip and switched on all of her com channels.
"We're about to fight a real battle. It'll be big, so ready everything." The woman ordered. Decades of experience in the ranks of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors, several years of which were spent as Supreme Commander, told Nuren Lah what she should expect at each exact time.
-scene change-
The Yuuzhan Vong clenched his fists as he watched the holo-message from the warmaster. He came to the Jedi stronghold to seek peace from all those who chased and worshipped him, but it seemed that respite was not for Sheng Lah.
It made sense. If the Sword of the Jedi had, so far, found no peace, then the Bridge of the Jedi and the Yuuzhan Vong, was not destined to live the easy, normal life, either. Perhaps merely being a Jedi made his days harsh and restless in times of war and strife. Sheng shook off the thoughts almost as soon as they came. As a Yuuzhan Vong, Sheng Lah would never complain, and as Jedi Knight, he could only accept everything the Force had allotted him.
"How can this be?" One of the other Jedi asked.
"There's a traitor and one of us has been has been followed." Sheng answered. He wanted to call the warmistress an obvious liar and say that the princess has wandered into another hemisphere of the planet, but his feelings told him that the warmistress was honest.
"It's probably true, knowing the Hapans. Tenel Ka suspects of a few traitors in her palace, but none of us had the opportunity to investigate." Jacen agreed with his former student. Just before his death, warmaster Nas Choka had chased Ben Skywalker to Hapes. In the battle that ensued, many, including Ben and Prince Isolder were killed and three prized Battle Dragons were destroyed, so the cluster had once again shut its doors. Only recently did the cluster reopen itself and allow for the queen and princess to leave.
"No, I meant how can that warmaster ask for a dead person?" The Jedi asked. "We all saw Ben's body disappear on the surveillance camera."
"It was a ruse. I felt Ben in one of our melds, but he left almost as soon as he came." Jacen countered.
"Jacen, if your cousin is alive, he'd be here right now. I also think this new warmaster is stupid beyond belief." Sheng Lah found himself the target of surprised stares, but he was used to the attention the other Jedi gave to their Yuuzhan Vong friend.
"No, Sheng, Ben is alive; he just doesn't want us to find him." Jacen replied and the room fell silent. Jacen understood Sheng Lah's opinion, for former Supreme Commander Nuren Lah, the woman who first judged the warmistress an incapable imbecile, was not to be taken lightly in military matters.
Jacen's fingers curled at his shaven chin. The ransom had given him much to ponder about. One family secret was out, and the Yuuzhan Vong leaders demanded his first-cousin for the return of his first daughter. Knowing the Yuuzhan Vong culture of lying, turning Ben in would not solve any problems, if his cousin was indeed alive.
If nothing were done soon, that princess would either be dead or a traitor. Or trying to summon the Hapan fleet. Jacen thought, considering the time the remains of the Peace Brigade took several Jedi children, including Sil, captive. The princess was patient, but once that patience ran out, she would attempt to use every bit of her political power. Summoning Battle Dragons was a good idea when it came to the Peace Brigade, but ordering the fleet to Coruscant would spell disaster.
"We should take back Coruscant, and while we're there, I'll get her out." Jacen broke the silence. Attacking the capital planet was the only choice for the dutiful Prince Consort.
"I'd like to be on the strike team on Coruscant, Jedi Masters."
"But Jedi Lah, you are to lead the new armies from here." A member of the council countered.
"The new armies are Nuren's, not mine. Besides, if we are splitting up in groups on the ground, I can go with one of you and make this whole thing go much faster." The gray-skinned Sheng Lah said out loud. While his eyes appeared to focus on the Jedi, they truly gazed upon the gash and tattoos of Domain Lah in his reflection on the wall. The Force was instructing Sheng Lah to face his domain, no, his blood, from the surface of the shaped planet.