I've finally finished chapter two after "hours" of working. Frankly, I'm a bit disapointed by this chapter but I guess its because its mostly a recap of what Jacen went trough. Ive added a lot of new stuff to balance the chapter and I could have made actually 2 chapters out of this one but I feel I should leave the recap in a single chapter. (I just love writting about Vergere triplecrossing everybody so expect some typical Vergere action... "words")

By the way, I'm trying to confirm the twins' exact age towards destiny's way and i'm actually too lazy to really find out. So if anyone would be kind enough to tell me, i would greatly appreciate.

Finally, thanks to KooKooNuT and Dark Austral for the encouraging reviews, this one is for you guys.


Chapter 2: Lies and Deceptions

Vergere was walking silently in the halls that had always reminded her of a creature's stomach. Ever since she had come living among the Yuuzhan Vong, she had always felt as if something was missing. For a long time she had suspected that this missing thing might have been the Yuuzhan Vong's presence in the force. She knew she couldn't feel them but the question had always puzzled her. If the Yuuzhan Vong were not in the force than how could they be alive? She had asked herself the question over and over again, countless times from any angle possible. Her natural conclusion had been that the Yuuzhan Vong were in the force, only that she lacked the level of awareness to sense them.

Vergere had never suspected when she first heard oh him that Jacen Solo just might have been the key to her question. In the long months she had spent as his mentor, Vergere had begun to question herself. Jacen, although he had seemed to be a slow learner of theory, had learned vital questions faster than Vergere could have ever anticipated. Jacen's quick thinking and natural reaction to any living being had allowed him to form a link with the world brain. While they were both, in a way, in training, they had both formed a link that had evolved into friendship. Vergere had been completely astonished to learn of that connection. For fifty years she had tried to establish a deeper connection with the Yuuzhan Vong and in merely months, Jacen had managed to accomplish this impossible feat.

As she walked pass a dozen of warrior on patrol, Vergere remembered how Jacen had nearly destroyed all hope for the Yuuzhan Vong of ever vong-forming Coruscant. Jacen had unknowingly lunched a massive rebellion inside the world ship among the slaves during a vital ceremony. The rebellion had caught everyone off guard resulting in the death of hundreds of slaves and dozens of warriors.

Vergere, unlike most people onboard, had not been completely surprised by Jacen's actions. She had been expecting something of the sort for some time. She was, however, shocked when she saw what devastation Jacen had unleashed. Everything that had stood between Jacen and the dhuryams was dead. It was as if the force had removed all life from that area. Nothing and no one had been spared, Jacen was standing surrounded by enemies one second and the next he was walking on a pile of corpses. The young amphistaffs, still untrained and undisciplined, were intertwined with Jacen's body covering most of it. Only Jacen's head and hands still showed flesh. The amphistaffs didn't care that their new found friend was human or not. They could feel his power and surrendered themselves to it. All he did was walk and kill.

As Jacen had made his way up to the dhuryams, he began killing them one by one until only one remained. The one he had befriended stood, blind, in its protective cocoon and awaited the light that would be its end or greatest moment of glory. Vergere was still far from them when she saw their bond spring back to life, effectively bringing Jacen back to his senses.

Vergere's thoughts were interrupted when she reached her destination. Entering the sealed room, she quickly noticed that there were representatives of every caste or Yuuzhan Vong society present in the room, except shamed ones.. She felt the tension between the different people in the room. After a brief moment of analyzing, she took place by Executor Nom Anor's seat.

"Executor… I was told of the success of your operation." Began the leading shaper.

"Indeed" replied Nom Anor. "Yes my lord, I am pleased to announce that the Jeedai Jacen Solo has seen the light of the true way."

"You will continue to monitor the situation and keep us informed. Supreme Overlord Shimrra has issued orders to rally our forces and prepare for battle. He senses the final battle is near."

"Master Shaper" Interrupted Vergere. "Has the Arbiter been informed of this?"

"This affair doesn't concern the newly appointed Arbiter, Vergere, or you for that matter. The Arbiter's duty is to monitor the status of our people and act accordingly on his own. We may be more inclined to reveal more information if the Arbiter himself revealed his identity to us."

"Do not forget, Master Shaper that Supreme Overlord Shimrra himself appointed the Arbiter and that he gave him his full trust. Whether you approve or not, is not of our concern."

"Enough of this nonsense," spoke Warmaster Tsavong Lah who had just entered the room. "The Arbiter has ears everywhere and will learn of our new strategy sooner or later."

"Ah… Warmaster… of course we did not mean disrespect." Said the master shaper, obviously angry.

"Now, if we may continue with the reunion and discuss of this new "weapon" of yours master shaper." Continued a priest.

"Yes… on with our main topic now. I am pleased to announce that out new weapon is ready for release. I proudly present too you the instrument that will bring destruction to the infidels: the Slayers."

As the master shaper spoke his words, a dozen of dark skinned Yuuzhan Vong warriors entered the room, each wearing cloaks, effectively hiding their bodies. The slayers were shorter than the average warrior and would have looked somewhat weak if not for their impressive muscles hidden under their clothing. Many warriors protested against this insanity of sending these pitiful and small Shamed One look-alikes. Despite all protest from the elite, Tsavong Lah did not flinch.

As a commanding warrior spoke to support his comrade, both their heads were cut off by amphistaffs held by two slayers. The warriors never stood a chance.

Vergere remained silent as she watched the shapers, priests and warriors argue with each others. She looked at Nom Anor and quickly nodded seeing the question in his eyes. Nom Anor sighted interiorly to avoid attracting attention on him and turned away from Vergere.

As she looked back at the people present in the room, Vergere couldn't help but feel pity for them. All those poor souls would fall in a trap they will have never seen coming. She looked at the closest Slayer with a flash in her eye. They stared at each other for a few seconds then she turned around. Vergere simply left the room a few minutes later, heading for her quarters. Everything is happening just as you predicted, Jacen Solo.

I will wait and see what your next move will be… Arbiter Solo.

As the sun was finally setting, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker stared into the horizon of the planet, seeing the beauty beyond the majestic colors. Luke could feel the sunset in the force, in fact ever since seeing Jacen, Luke felt as if the force was rushing out all around him in a calm and peaceful way. Luke looked down from the small hill he was sitting on and saw hundreds of people at work. Some were packing their equipment; others were unpacking for a prolonged stay on the planet's surface. He could feel them all in the force, the Jedi standing out more than others. His life's work was gazing back at him smiling like a soft ghost's whisper.

Luke felt his niece in the force, approaching him. Jaina finished climbing the hill and sighted. Luke took a good look at her as she admired the view without saying a word. Something in her had changed. Jacen's return had filled an empty void inside her that would have otherwise remained empty for the rest of her life. Her friends, Kyp and specially Jag Fel had managed to keep her sane and focused to a certain extent but they never really could replace her other half. Jaina took a deep breath then smiled at Luke and sat down near him.

Luke, keeping the peaceful silence, turned around to gaze at the orange and blue sunset. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time and he liked the sensation. Leia and Mara soon joined them to admire the beautiful sight. Luke looked back down in the crowd and noticed Han Solo talking and laughing with General Wedge Antilles. Wedge was perhaps one of the Galactic Alliance's strongest figures though he usually didn't bother much. He had been with the rebellion even before Luke. He had participated in every major battle since Yavin. He was the only man to fly against both death stars. Luke had been more inclined to leave the military knowing Wedge Antilles would succeed him as Rogue Leader. He was a natural leader and most people saw that, specially his friends. Han grabbed another drink and turned back to his deck of cards and made his move, making Tycho Celchu, another New Republic hero, sight in defeat.

Back in the Millennium Falcon, Jacen was taking his first, well deserved, shower in a while. The whole concept of washing was not part of the Yuuzhan Vong due to their robeskins who pretty much ate anything the body exceeded. Jacen looked at the scar on his chest where the slave seed had been. He felt a shiver run through his spine and knew the world brain was trying to talk to him.

Yes… I felt it too. Don't worry they're with us.

Another shiver.

I know you don't trust them, I'm asking you to trust me not them.

This time a soft sensation.

Yes, soon… very soon.

Several hours later, most of Jacen's close friends and family were gathered around him. The only notable stranger was Jag Fel but it didn't seem to bother after seeing how close he was standing too Jaina and made a mental note to ask her about it later. Jacen looked at them all and began his tale. His journey trough the land of the dead.

As Jacen spoke of the long months he had spent in the embrace of pain and with Vergere's constant questions, Leia, Luke and Han were shocked almost to death when they imagined Jacen alone in the alien world. Jacen's tale continued on to his moments with the dhuryam and the connection through the slave seed. The Jedi were amazed to learn of his connection with a Yuuzhan Vong bios. Han smiled and told him "That's my boy! Best when it comes to living things". The joke made everyone laugh and relieved the tension in the air. Jacen kept talking.

"After a few weeks, perhaps months… I'm not so sure anymore. I realized I could touch even deeper in this… vongsense. I could feel the baby amphistaffs growing nearby; I felt their eagerness to bite something at first then their curiosity when they felt me as well.

Over the following days, I kept practicing to reach with them in my free time. One day, however, all activity stopped in the ship. Every dhuryam had been cut off of their slaves and rendered blind for the duration of the ceremony that would have normally chosen the future world brain. I felt the fear in my dhuryam as I told him not to worry and felt our connection vanish."

Jacen told of his breakdown and that he had almost managed to destroy the seed ship to attempt to thwart the Yuuzhan Vong's vongforming of Coruscant. He deliberately omitted many, more violent, parts of the incident.

As Vergere continued walking in the hallways of the Yuuzhan Vong capital ship on orbit over Coruscant, her thoughts shifted towards Jacen Solo once more. As she passed by a few busy shapers, she remembered of her time on the planet with Jacen, how he had evolved into something more than she could have ever imagined. She had witnessed the death of the Jedi Jacen Solo before but she knew Jacen Solo still thought of himself as a Jedi. She had continued to follow him in the underworld of the planet as he roamed without any purpose. Vergere had then suggested him to follow her and eventually, they had ended up in the old emplacement of the Jedi temple of Coruscant. Vergere had told Jacen of the secrets of the Jedi order as he had stared into the black emptiness that had laid before him. Jacen Solo had made his crucial choice when he had been faced with dozens of warriors led by Nom Anor. She had been terrified when suddenly, surrounded by warriors, Jacen had tapped in the force and unleashed a deadly series of attacks that had crushed, killed and eliminated all that had been blocking his way.

Jacen Solo had learned to tap into the force despite having been cut from it. Vergere and Nom Anor had made their final offer to him, both of them sensing he was ready. Jacen had agreed into playing for the Yuuzhan Vong and learning their ways. At that very moment, the Jedi Jacen Solo had died. Jacen Solo had risen from the nothingness he had been cast away since his childhood, raised by a strong family of politician and Jedi. Jacen's views of life had always been limited to his parent's steps. His natural talent with any living being was perhaps the only thing that had not been unconsciously restrained. It had never been their intention but his parents had set him on a path that had been seemingly decided for him before. His strong connection in the force had naturally encouraged him to follow the path.

Now, however, Jacen had been freed of everything. At that moment he had had nothing to rely on, nothing but himself. This natural reflex had awakened the Force inside him once more as he had unleashed its powers. The force had always flown through him like water and now it was not merely water coming out of a tube that had awakened him… It had been the full strength of a river flowing and breaking through anything that had stood in his path. That moment had been Jacen's first revelation of the unifying force.

Luke was fascinated to learn of Jacen's revelations. Fascinated, shocked, disgusted and relieved all at the same time. He didn't know how to express it well but kept asking questions to Jacen about it.

Seeing Luke's questions building up faster than he could speak, Jacen spoke first to all Jedi, Luke in particular.

"From the beginning the question has been if the Yuuzhan Vong were part of life or not. We could not feel them so we naturally assumed they were outside of it, outside of the living force. In a sense we were all right. But if the Yuuzhan Vong are not in the force then I ask you this, are they still part of life? Must we value them as an enemy of the Galactic Alliance or an enemy of the Force."

"I don't think the Yuuzhan Vong are outside of life but they're not in the force. Our natural response to the question is that it is our own views of the force that are flawed." Answered Mara instead of Luke.

"And this theory is confirmed by what you tell us of this unifying force being further than the living force." Concluded Luke.

"Yes, but you're still looking at things from the wrong perspective." Continued Jacen as if explaining a lesson to a classroom. "You always told me that everything in life depended on our own perspective of things. Everything from good to evil is judged by someone, ourselves."

"Yes… That was Obi-Wan's final lesson to me. When I learned Darth Vader was truly Anakin Skywalker."

"When you think of the Living force as lower then the unifying force, already your judgment is flawed in some sense because those are only words. The force is one whole thing. It can't be broken down into different parts or assembled; the Force is everything and nothing, as expressed by the Yuuzhan Vong. The fact that we can't feel them is not because they are not there or because our judgment of them is flawed. Our own perception of the force has nothing to do with it. You simply can't see them because you're trying so hard to see them. Don't question yourself if they're in the force or not, instead ask yourself where they are in the force. It's pretty childish to say but when you manage it, it opens a lot of doors. Don't try to feel them. Do it, or don't." he finished jokingly

Luke smiled at the same words Yoda once used to teach him a lesson. He thought about what Jacen had said and knew it wouldn't be easy too do but it made sense to him.

"Our roles have been reversed; the teacher had become the student." Said Luke smiling

"The teacher must learn as much from the apprentice as he teaches to him." Replied Han feeling suddenly wise.

"It's not what the teacher shows that matters, it's what the student learns in the end." Finished Jacen, thinking of Vergere's words.

As Vergere finally reached her initial destination, she remembered Jacen's actions since he had seemingly joined the Yuuzhan Vong. His new reach in the force had kept evolving to a point where he could feel any Yuuzhan Vong creature as well as themselves. Jacen Solo was becoming what Vergere had foreseen, a turning point in the history of the Force. She entered the secret room located in a restricted section of the ship and saw Nom Anor waiting for her along with two slayers. Vergere smiled to them and took a seat. She looked at the first slayer who was drastically larger than all the other slayers, his black skin and impressive muscular build clearly showed that he was the leader of the slayer.

"Commander Fenix" Began Vergere "I trust our plan is ready."

The slayer silently nodded without revealing any emotions. Vergere turned towards Nom Anor.

"Congratulations in your promotion, Supreme Executor Nom Anor"

"Thank you, Vergere" simply said Nom Anor "Have you spoken to the Arbiter?"

"Not since we began our little operation but I did get confirmation that phase one was a success."

"Very good, although, I was quite shocked to learn that in the process of phase one, his entire personal guard of warriors was killed in action."

"Those warriors" began the Slayer Commander Fenix "Were all inferiors, we Slayers are the true guardians of the Arbiter."

"Yes" resumed Vergere "And I suspect that was part of his plan"

"His plan? Are you implying that he has formed his own plan of action?"

"Well of course, Supreme Executor. Just like you and me have. We have no true side but our own and I was expecting as much from him. The Arbiter will carry on with our plan as long as it suits his needs. Be thankful that his goal is the same as us; to end the war."

Vergere turned towards the second Slayer who had remained silent.

"Preator, take a squad of Slayers and return to Yuuzhan'tar. Prepare yourselves for the third phase of our plan. No one must learn of our actions."

The Slayer Preator silently nodded and exited the secret room. Vergere looked at Nom Anor once more.

"Well, Supreme Executor, I shall soon join the Arbiter and begin phase two of our plan; you will stay here and keep us informed of Supreme Overlord Shimrra's actions."

"Shimrra and Warmaster Tsavong Lah will not easily fall into our trap."

"Warmaster Tsavong Lah only sees what he wants too see and right now is too obsessed with the Jedi to care about anything else. As for Shimrra, the Arbiter will manage things on his own."

"Then may the gods smile upon us, Vergere." Said Nom Anor mockingly

"Oh don't worry, Supreme Executor… We have a living god on our side. Soon the Slayer's judgment will fall upon the universe and unleash the light of the true way."

Millions of Kilometers away from them, on board the Millennium Falcon, Jacen Solo suddenly felt something in the force and smiled inwardly.

Soon… very soon…