Chapter Two
Vergere sat at the helm of the small Yuuzhan Vong coralcraft that she and Jacen had stolen from Coruscant; her soft, colourful plumage rippling in the rank wind that passed through the ships' organic air recycling system.
By her side, Jacen was in a deep Force-trance, seeking out his family, from whom she had isolated him on Coruscant, both physically and through the Force. Despite his deep entrenchment in the mystical energies of the Force, Vergere had been close enough to Jacen for long enough to sense joy in him. Or rather, a sense of satisfaction at having accomplished a task. Vergere had shaped Jacen, much as the Yuuzhan Vong had shaped Coruscant.
The difference was, Vergere knew, that whilst the Yuuzhan Vong had only succeeded in adding yet another layer to the mosaic that was Coruscant's surface, she had broken Jacen down into nothing; she had taken everything from him, and built him up from simply the essence of his being. A lesser Jedi would have wilted; would have given up in the face of her brutal, if necessary teachings.
But Jacen Solo had not, and for that, Vergere was as proud of him as she had ever been proud of anyone.
Reaching out subtly with the Force, Vergere could sense Jacen searching across the unfathomable distances that separated him from his family. Piggybacking on his sensations, Vergere felt him touch his mother, who was farther than Jacen had expected, and for a moment, Vergere shared his joy at finding her.
She felt Jacen touch his Master, Luke Skywalker, and Vergere reminded herself that the new master of the Jedi Order would undoubtedly have many questions for her.
Vergere concentrated and followed Jacen's mind out into space and he searched for Jaina, his twin sister. Joy radiated from Jacen like the light of a sun, but before Vergere could share it, she was suddenly forced back to herself, as it were.
Shocked, Vergere looked at Jacen. He was still meditating, and she doubted that he had pushed her out, for it was unlikely he had detected her at all.
Instead, Vergere realised, that what she had experienced had not been a push from Jacen, but from the Force itself. Jacen had told her the story of the destruction of Alderaan; how Obi-Wan Kenobi had felt a disturbance in the Force as Alderaan's billions of lives were extinguished by the Death Star.
But what Vergere had felt had not been so much a disturbance, as one might disturb a pond by casting a stone into it; rather, it was more like a ripple caused by a single drop of rain. Vergere had felt the ripple only because her presence in the Force had been so small.
In a moment of cognisant knowledge, Vergere knew, if only briefly, what the ripple was.
"Nom Anor," she whispered.
"What about him?"
Vergere realised suddenly that Jacen was standing over her, looking down with his dark brown eyes, and smiling knowingly, evidently pleased with having surprised her.
Vergere's feathers rippled. "I wonder how long Shimmra will keep him alive?"
Jacen narrowed his eyes at his would-be teacher, and laughed at her. "I don't believe you. Why did you mention him?"
Looking offended, Vergere made a sharp, jingling sound; her own way of snorting indignantly. "And why do you not believe me, Jacen Solo, Avatar of God?" she asked, mocking him with the title the Yuuzhan Vong had given him during his sham conversion to the True Path.
"Everything I tell you is a lie," Jacen retorted evenly.
Frowning at her own teachings being used against her, Vergere sighed. "I felt a disturbance in the Force," she admitted. "I was…monitoring your presence in the Force and ---"
"You were spying on me?" Jacen interrupted.
"I was monitoring you," Vergere repeated. "My Force presence was very small, and I felt…I suppose you would call it a ripple in the ocean of the universe. Something very, very small."
Jacen nodded. "And you felt Nom Anor?" he asked sceptically.
Shaking her feathered head emphatically, Vergere replied: "Of course not. You know as well as anyone that the Yuuzhan Vong are invisible to the Force." She breathed deeply. "What I felt was the aftermath of something of his doing; an indirect sensation, if you will."
"Maybe just excitement about being away from the Yuuzhan Vong for the first time in five decades is making you sense things that are not there?" Jacen suggested in playful, but mocking tones.
Vergere rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Instead, she turned her eyes back to the front of the coralcraft, and placed the cognition hood over her small head. The device, which functioned as a combination helm and tactical display, flooded Vergere's mind with information. She sought out what she wanted, and found it in little time.
"We are on the edge of the Mon Calamari star system," Vergere said, keeping her eyes closed, and focusing through the cognition hood, expanding her sensations into the hyperspace around the coralcraft. "A small New Republic fleet is positioned ahead of us. The craft recognises several of them as the Elegos A'Kla and the Mon Mothma."
Jacen was then promptly thrown back against the coral bulkhead as their ship was dragged out of hyperspace somewhat unexpectedly. The pain did not bother Jacen as much as it should have done, he thought, and he stood up again, positioned behind Vergere, who was still wearing the cognition hood.
"Yuuzhan Vong craft," a voice boomed through the coralcraft's internal communication system. Jacen recognised it immediately, and he interrupted.
"Wedge Antilles," Jacen said evenly. "We've travelled a long way to get here, and I'd be a bit upset if you shot us down before I can say hello to my parents."
There were audible hoots and sounds of celebration as Jacen spoke. Obviously his voice was more distinctive that he realised. The transparent membrane at the front of the coralcraft showed two modified Imperial II-class Star Destroyers, both equipped both interdiction generators, surrounded by smaller ships, ranging from Corellian corvettes, to Ranger-class gunships.
"Jacen Solo," Wedge said, smiling, judging by the tone of his voice. "And who is your travelling partner?"
"I am Vergere," came the reply from the diminutive Fosh.
The clamour died down on the other end of the communication, but Wedge still sounded jovial. "We'll work out the fine details when we get you to Fleet Command. But for now, on behalf of the Mon Mothma and the New Republic, welcome to Mon Calamari."
