Part 26: Alligator Lake
Ben was forced to completely shut off his sense of hearing as his velocity increased. Using the Force, he reached out for his distant cousin and nudged his descent in her direction and at the same time, avoided the warriors crazy enough to follow him. He then remembered how to control his speed and grinned as the shocked Yuuzhan Vong fell past him. The Jedi relaxed greatly and laid out on his back as he floated down the city-turned jungle like a piece of paper.
After an indefinite amount of time, Ben spotted water beneath his back. The body of water was no larger than a minor lake, but it was enough water to slake his thirst and bathe his sweat-soaked body. He took his time to remove all of his gear save his underclothes and boots and hung everything on the nearest branch.
The Jedi plunged headfirst into the lukewarm water and did not hesitate to gulp it down. Without warning, something that resembled a wild amphistaff slithered onto the liquid's surface and hissed. A second later, something snapped at Ben's boots and he was forced to swim for his life.
The young Skywalker heard jaws snapping and turned around to see a black, demonic creature with a long snout. He swam as fast as he could toward the nearest shore, but he was not speedy enough and the wild thing took one of his boots. Ben scrambled ashore and summoned his belongings with through the Force. A touch told him that he was not far from his cousin, Jysella, and Crest and the red-haired boy broke into a mad dash, for he had recovered from his run from the angered scouts.
"Human boy, what is the meaning of this?" Ben suddenly found himself sprawled in mud and tangled with another being. He had been moving too fast and not paying attention to his eyes.
"You didn't call me infidel, you said human." The sixteen-year-old noted when he realized that he bumped into a Yuuzhan Vong warrior.
"I no longer belong to the old way after getting buried under the dead twice." The gray-skinned man replied as both scrambled to their feet.
"Under dead people? Tell me about it." Ben knew he was to free his friends, but he could not resist stopping to ask a most peculiar Yuuzhan Vong some questions.
"Since you are a human and I see no ooglith masquer, I will speak." The warrior revealed his identity as Hul Rapuung and told the Jedi of how his crèche-mate spared his life in the battle to buy Anakin and Tahiri time to escape Yavin four. "For I don't know how long, I was stuck on that moon. When I finally found my domain, I was dishonored but not Shamed. To mitigate my failure and regain my standing as a warrior, I was sent to slay the Jeedai at the World Brain. He was better than any warrior I had ever seen and buried me under the biggest pile of flesh I had ever seen. I was disarmed and defeated and I was to choose between Blessed Release and exile. The easy way was Blessed Release, but that would be an insult to the gods and my crèche-brother, since I've done nothing worthy of recognition. I paid my respect to Yun Harla and fooled my caste to think I was walking with the gods, and I thought long and hard about what my crèche-mate saw in those Jeedai. I walked from camp to camp telling my story until Yu'Shaa came. I don't know how I was passed over for death again, but somehow, I lived to see him leave. About a year ago, a Jeedai named Jysella Horn came and organized us more than that fraud of a prophet ever did. She is a student of Yun Harla. She made me head of her warriors and called me a walking saint. I am to free her from this prison damutek and give her Jeedai weapon to her."
Ben took a few minutes to unscramble the accented Basic, but when he did, he was incredulous. He almost gawked. "If all of that is true, then…"
"Now's not the time. If you're an armed and good fighter, you can help me set Yun Harla's student free." The former warrior cut Ben off.
"We're here for the same people, so I'm coming with you whether you like it or not." Ben replied.
"Tell me more. It will be a hundred or so … meters, I believe, before we run into any guards."
"I'm actually here for a cousin, but Jysella's with her."
"How would you know? Have you seen the inside of this damutek?" The sturdy Yuuzhan Vong suddenly picked Ben up by the collar of his flight suit, which he put back on after the swim. The fierce, yellow eyes suddenly and hungrily demanded information.
"I haven't been in there; I felt 'em in the Force. Jysella, Sil, and Crest are all there."
"Jeedai! You…" A young man who accompanied the old, famous warrior started to speak, but suddenly stopped and paled. Ben opened his mouth, but unified gesture from Hul Rapuung's group told him to keep quiet as they apparently listened for something. Ben then noticed someone playing some Yuuzhan Vong equivalent of a brass instrument in the distance.
One scrawny, aging woman in the company cursed in Yuuzhan Vong when the music ended.
"I guess that's no drill."
"Our code is designed to sound like one, but it is not. Our head shaper says Nom Anor is Yu'Shaa and he is leading our people somewhere! We must free the Trickster's student now!" Hul Rapuung gasped and put Ben back on the ground.
"That name sounds like bad news." Ben muttered before reaching into the Force and feeling for Jacen's mind meld. As soon as he touched it, he shouted to the Jedi the exact words he heard from the former warrior. He was not sure if his voice carried, but many Jedi were shocked and then angry. One, apparently Sheng Lah, responded with the strangest, most bone-racking sensation Ben had ever felt.
Sheng, is that you?
Place of Bones… better go. The Yuuzhan Vong Jedi's presence flickered before completely disappearing.
"He defines bad news. He's prefect of my old domain and he's the worst any domain could have." The thin, old woman looked sullen.
"Do you know exactly where the Trickster's chosen is, Jeedai?" The old but still massively built Hul Rapuung inquired.
"I can show you when we get in." Ben replied. Pointing at a group of guards, Ben added. "Are they guarding the entrance?"
"Yes, but they pose no problem for a my hand-picked fighters and a Jeedai." The ex-warrior grinned a bloodthirsty grin before unraveling and waving an amphistaff. He then picked up his pace and charged. Ben, in order to avoid being trampled, activated his lightsabers and followed.
When four of Shimrra's warriors took interest in Ben, the Jedi grabbed what was left of an old statue with the Force and pinned the four Yuuzhan Vong against a wall with the piece of rock. His first impulse was to shoot them with his fire arrows while distance was still his advantage, but an old memory of a bedtime story warned him not to.
"Little boys… think they can kill Jeedai and claim glory." Muttered Rapuung as he traced his amphistaff along the face of a still-groggy prison guard. A large, bulky woman emerged from the doors and charged at Ben, but someone's amphistaff wrapped itself around her ankles and pulled her feet out from beneath her body. Without waiting for her to recover, the serpentine weapon's owner used the weapon to throw the guard out of sight.
"We can go in now." The frail-looking woman said as she wrapped her amphistaff around her forearm. Though she appeared small and weak, Ben realized that she was the one who threw the hundred-kilo warrior off into who-knows-where.
"Dorik vong pratte!" Just as the female finished speaking, a dozen more guards stormed toward the entrance. The speaker then switched to Basic. "You Jeedai have no respect for our buildings, have you? You come when this is already hurt!"
Next: second part of this scene