Chapter 30
As the Valorous reverted to realspace, Jag realized with a start that the Calcol system was not empty as it should have been. Hanging over the planet was a medium-sized Yuuzhan Vong cruiser, looking tentative even in its barbarity. Despite the fact it was clearly outnumbered, it made no move to escape, or attack for that matter. It seemed perfectly content to cling to the planet's atmosphere ring, paying them no mind. Jag scowled, and motioned to his communications officer. "Get me General Fel on the Roughshod."
A few seconds later the holoprojector produced a perfectly miniature image of his wife. She wasn't dressed in uniform as she should be, but wore a smile a mile long. "Jag!" she exclaimed, ignoring protocol.
"Did you see the Yuuzhan Vong ship?" he began without preamble.
Her exuberance didn't fade. "I think it'll jump before we ever get there."
He shook his head. "It would have already done so if that was its intentions."
Jaina took on a more thoughtful look. "I bet it's waiting on something."
"Something on the ground? Or are we sitting in the middle of an ambush?"
Jaina closed her eyes, and Jag knew she was searching the Force for answers. Finally she opened them and shook her head. "I don't feel any danger. The surface is my guess."
"I'll send some people to go check it out."
"Okay. We'll block their exit vector, in case it's something important. And Jag?"
"Yes?" he said, his hand hovering over the off switch.
She smiled sweetly. "I kind of need to talk to you about something. After this is over could you maybe come over to the Roughshod?"
Jag repressed a frown. The tentativeness in her voice had not been lost on him. Something was up. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she assured him. "I just need to talk to you about something. Important."
Jag ran a hand over his face. "Uh, okay. I'll go with the search party down to the surface, and have them take me over there on the way back."
"All right. Be careful. I love you."
Jag did smile then. "I will. I love you too."
They faced no resistance on the descent into atmosphere. The cruiser made no move to attack. In fact, it seemed completely focused on the surface. Something funny was going on. It was the first time Jag could remember the Yuuzhan Vong not being completely on the offensive.
"Are there any large areas of activity on the surface?" Jag asked as they soared through the cloud-cover.
"In the northern hemisphere, General. Our scanners are picking up a single ship and over two thousand lifeforms."
"Take us there," Jag instructed.
Calcol was a flat planet, with little to no mountains or trees. It was one huge sprawling grassland that stretched far over the horizon. There was one ocean and small seas that dotted the surface, but other than that there was no break in the lea. Because of this the hulking Vong transport was easily spotted far into the distance. It was a ship like Jag had never seen before, almost resembling a cross between a huge worm and a Tatooine dewback without legs. "Get us in close," Jag instructed.
As they drew neared other features became evident. There were thousands of figures, moving slowly, being herded into the ship. The Imperial pilot pulled them into a flyover, and Jag suddenly realized what they were.
Slaves. Thousands of coral implanted slaves.
Jag winced, hating the Yuuzhan Vong for doing that to his fellow sentient beings. He had to stop them. But how, at least without killing as many as he saved in the process?
"General?" the pilot asked.
Jag wracked his brain for an answer. "Put down," he said finally. "They don't seem to be very interested in us, just in keeping us from retaking the slaves. Maybe on the ground I'll be able to think of something else."
They landed the dropship a hundred meters away from the edge of the parade, close enough that they could make out the individual humanoids being herded aboard the slave ship. The Vong watched them nervously, but instead of attacking sped up the loading of the cruiser. They knew this was a fight they couldn't win. Even though there were thousands of slaves, there were no more than a handful of warriors, and those were pitifully armed. Jag and his troops had a heavily armed transport and a excess of heavy artillery.
But being out numbered had never stopped them before. What was stopping them now? The only thing Jag could think of was that they had been given specific orders to get as many slaves off-planet as possible before being intercepted. That was the function of the planet and why Jag had come, after all. Before the Ithor incident he had been trying to stop the slave trade, and his last lead had taken him here, or would have had his time not been cut short. Calcol must have been little more than a stop-over, a place where the slave were implanted then sent to places where they were more needed.
Jag motioned for the stormtrooper at his right to hand him the comlink. He clicked twice then said, "Roughshod do you copy?"
A few seconds later a male voice came back. "We're here, General."
"Let me speak to General Fel."
"On moment, please."
Jag waited impatiently. Finally, "Jag, are you okay?"
"It's a slave transport, just like I thought. We could take it out, but that would kill as many as we could save. Do you think you could disable it in space?"
There was a pause. Then, "Probably. You wanna chance it?"
"I don't see any other options. We'll stay here and keep an eye on them until they lift off."
"Copy," and then she was gone.
"Hand me those microbinoculars," Jag said to the same trooper. The instrument was passed to him, and he raised them to his eyes, scanning the crowd.
Most had a faraway look in their eyes, not registering what was going on around them. They moved stiffly, not in control of themselves. The Vong prodded their filthy half-clothed bodies with amphistaffs, hurrying them aboard. Jag scowled, focusing in on one of the warriors. He was obviously of a low rank, his body lacking more than two or three tattoos and scars. Beside him was a human slave, a male in his lat twenties or early thirties. He was covered in dirt and filth, coral implant protruding from his back and neck.
A spark of recognition gripped Jag in a vice, and his hands tightened frighteningly around the microbinoculars. He twisted the lens, zooming in on the figure. At that same moment the man turned, putting his face fully in Jag's view. Jag's heart stopped for a full three seconds he was sure before reality settled itself in his gut.
The microbinoculars dropped from numb hands to the ground, clattering in the dirt. They went unnoticed by Jag, his brain still overloaded by the sight he had just seen. A single word escaped him in a shuddering breath.
"Chak."
He trembled, shaking himself from the chill overcoming him. He turned quickly to the same stormtrooper. "Give me the comlink."
"Jaina," he said softly, unable to keep the quaver from his voice.
A few seconds later she answered him. "Jag?"
"Jaina, you can't let that transport getaway. This is very very important. Keep it in system."
"Why?" she asked, perplexed.
Fear of somehow being mistaken stopped him from admitting the truth. He wanted to see him, touch him, talk to him before he admitted what he had seen. "Just do it."
Jaina ran an affectionate had over her abdomen. Now that the truth had been learned it was literally all she was capable of thinking about. Every minute or so she would reach out and touch it with the Force, just to reassure herself it was there.
A baby. What a concept. Part of her balked at the idea of her having a child of her own, she was too young. And besides, Jaina and baby just didn't go together. But so it was. And Jaina had never been happier. It wasn't just the child itself that she loved, but the whole idea of carrying Jag's child. This baby was physical manifestation of their love, a lasting testament and legacy. Even if one of them died their love was forever branded into the Force, having created a life that was half of each of them. It was a humbling and awe-inspiring thought.
Jaina caught her Uncle Luke staring at her, and she self-consciously removed her hand from the place right above the line of her belt. "Has the Vong slaveship lifted off yet?" she asked, trying to draw attention away from herself.
"No, but sensor readouts show increased gravatic pull. I think its powering up," he answered.
Jaina nodded, her mind already returning the warm spot of life growing inside her. It was a girl, that she knew innately. The spirit was there, and she just knew. She could also tell by how the developing mind easily registered her mental touch that she was Force-sensitive. Pride swelled inside Jaina, knowing that was one part of her that her daughter had inherited. The Jedi gift had been passed on, and that was one thing they would always share.
Jaina was also saddened, knowing Jag would never have that with their daughter. That connection was lost to him, and she hated that he would never experience what she did.
But the Force didn't always mean a greater connection. Jaina had related much more to her own father who was also Force-blind than to her Jedi mother. Jaina and Han had had so much more in common, and their bond ran twice as deep, as his sacrifice was evidence to.
It hit Jaina then, a deep sense of realization that couldn't be denied. Han had given her so much, literally giving her life twice. And in that he had also given her daughter a chance at life as well. It only seemed fitting he should be an integral part of her life. What could be more fitting than to let this baby be his namesake?
Jaina thought for a second, then smiled. Hanna. It fit.
Her reverie was interrupted by a blaring claxon on the bridge. "Report!" she snapped.
"The Yuuzhan Vong frigate above the planet has jumped to hyperspace, General. The slaveship should be breaking atmosphere any second," Captain Onan replied.
"Take us in," she ordered.
"Jaina," Luke's voice said softly behind her, "if the other ship jumped so close to atmosphere the other one will be able to too. We'll never make it."
Jaina looked out the viewport, and knew he was right. But she had to try. "Full speed," she instructed.
"General, at full speed we may not be able to pull up soon enough to miss the planet," Onan said.
Jaina cursed, violently. "Just get us there as quick as possible without smashing us against the planet!" Jag had said to keep it in system at all costs. What could be so important? "Do we have sufficient tractor beams to keep it here, at least until we can get there?"
A techie in the sensor well began typing furiously at a computer, and then shook his head a negative. Jaina cursed again, and swung her chair around to face her Aunt and Uncle. "Any tricks from the old days you can impart?"
Mara snickered. "I never ran one of these things, I was always behind the scenes."
Luke shook his head sadly. "I was always in a cockpit. Strategy wasn't my job."
Jaina swung angrily back to the viewport. "I would say just let it slide if Jag hadn't told me specifically to make sure it didn't get loose. But what do I do in this situation?"
Just then the ship appeared, having broken atmosphere and gunning hard for deep space. Jaina let out a shuddering breath. "Fire at will."
"Fire?" Onan asked.
Jaina sent him a harsh glare. "That's what I said! Maybe it'll at least slow them down."
The big guns of the Roughshod opened up, sending green streaks of light sailing towards the Vong cruiser, pummeling it with laserfire. It didn't slow, putting all its energy into escaping to hyperspace. Jaina gripped the arms of her command chair until her knuckles turned white, watching the vessel slowly inch farther and farther out of her grasp. In the blink of an eye it was gone.
Jaina let her head hang with despair. She had failed him. In what, she wasn't sure, but the failure hung heavy in her chest anyway.
Even though she knew he would inevitably be disappointed, Jaina couldn't keep the smile from her face as Jag descended the boarding ramp. She knew he had know way of knowing about their baby, but somehow it just seemed like he should share her exuberance. But as she saw his face she realized with disappointment that that was obviously not the case.
He looked despondent, and more than a little angry. Jaina's first instinct had been to run and embrace him, but she shied from the coolness in his gaze. Tentatively she reached out to place a comforting hand on his forearm. "I'm so sorry, Jag. I did everything I could." Jaina still wasn't sure what she was sorry for, but the look on his face was enough to make anyone sorry.
He looked down into her eyes, and she could see the war going on behind his gaze. He didn't want to be angry with her, and yet couldn't abandon the emotion completely. "I..." he began, but stopped, looking down at the ground. Jaina wondered uneasily at what had been so important about that ship.
"Talk to me, Jag," she said with a constricted throat.
"Chak," he said softly, and then seemed to be able to say no more. Finally he gathered himself and finished. "He was on that ship. He's alive. And he was on that ship."
Jaina felt as if someone had just shoved a vibroblade through her gut and twisted it savagely. "I thought he was dead," she managed at long last.
"I saw him," was his only reply. Jaina knew him well enough to know he was immune as all other Chiss to flights of fancy, and had held out no hopes for his brother's life. If he said it was Chak on that ship than it was. Knowing not what else to do, she pulled him into her embrace, trying to offer what comfort she could. His muscles were tense under the thin uniform, and she clearly read the unspoken signal. You let him get away.
She pulled away, trying to reign in her emotions. She had to keep reminding herself how she would be acting had it been Jacen or Anakin on that ship. Considering, he was behaving remarkably well. "I am so sorry Jag. I didn't know. We'll...we'll find him. We'll get him back."
Jag pulled away, looking more flustered than she could ever remember seeing him. "How? It took me three months just to find this way station."
Jaina shook her head. "I don't know. But we will. I'll help you. We'll go after him. Now."
At this there was a noise behind them, and Jaina remembered Mara and Luke. From the Force it became apparent that Mara was about to object. Jaina shouldn't be going hand to hand with any sort of enemy—let alone a Yuuzhan Vong warrior—in her condition. Jaina threw her a fierce look, one so full of grave warning it silenced the Jedi. Mara still didn't look happy, but kept her mouth shut. Jaina turned back to Jag.
"I promise, Jag, I'll do everything I can to help you find him."
Jag said nothing, but his countenance softened minutely. Taking it as a good sign, Jaina slid back into his arms, burying her face in his chest. This wasn't how she wanted to tell him about Hanna. It should be a special moment, one when there was nothing between them but love. And Jaina didn't see that happening until Chak was safely out of Yuuzhan Vong hands.