Onimi: I'm sure I've said this before, but why can't a Jedi go through depression without becoming Sith? That's all I'm doing...putting a more down-to-earth spin on a Jedi dealing with her emotions instead of the stereotypical archetype among Force users. In reality, people do get drunk and do stupid sh...tuff when they're in an emotionally weakened state. She's in for a rough go. Honestly, I loved writing the communication between Wedge and Pearl. "Shall I return her pants to her, Admiral?" Probably my favourite from this entire story ;)

My apologies if I may have made some spelling mistakes in earlier chapters around Centerpoint station. Canadians spell it "centre," and that's somewhat engrained in my finger muscle memory when typing. Lightsaber is about the only one I use the American spelling for automatically.

Chapter 21 - Assault

In an arrowhead formation with the Solo Quest in front, the Squawking Mynock and the Jade Shadow dropped out of hyperspace in orbit around Corellia moments before the Centerpoint station gravity well powered back up.

And a few hundred kilometres away, so did an Obsidian-class destroyer flanked by three hundred warships.

[[[[#]]]]]]]]=(=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A metallic tapping noise woke Jaina from her sleep on the strange hard bed and it took her a moment to remember where she was. With her head still pounding from the drinking the night before, she looked over to see her mother and Erinn standing outside the bars of the brig she had been thrown into. Past them she could see that the omnipresent guard had left the room. Erinn was not making eye contact with her, looking away rather embarrassedly, but her mother's gaze could have melted durasteel.

"Before you claim otherwise," Leia said in a voice that matched her harsh glare. "A 'mutiny' generally reserved for actions by a ship's crew that results in the ship being taken away from the highest authority, not returned to said authority."

Jaina rolled over on the hard bed and turned toward the wall, away from her visitors.

"On the authority of Grand Admiral Wedge Antilles," Leia read from the datapad in her hand. "Pertaining to the charges of an over-extension of authority with regard to the utilization of fleet assets, assault of a subordinate officer, implementation of improper maintenance protocols that endangered the life of fleet personnel, and issuance of orders whilst under the influence of, and I quote from the official report from your former XO, 'enough alcohol to make (you) forget to wear pants to the bridge,' I hereby strip you of all rank and privilege in Jedi Coalition Fleet Command and sentence you to a one-week period in the brig pending a review of your actions."

"I am so frakin' hung over," Jaina groaned. "Go 'way."

"Furthermore, on the authority of Kenth Hamner, Acting Grand Jedi Master," Leia continued. "Due to behaviour unfitting of a Jedi Master, including public intoxication and trafficking alcohol to a minor..."

"She's not a minor on Tattoine..." Jaina muttered.

"...You are hereby suspended as a member of the Jedi Order..."

"Whatever is left of it," Jaina interjected.

"...your apprentice will be reassigned..."

"Can I go back to sleep now?"

"...and your lightsaber destroyed."

"What?!" Jaina shouted. She rolled off the bed and crashed to the floor tangled up in the blanket. After a few seconds of fighting her way out of her blanket in a post-drunken stupor, she finally pulled herself standing in front of her mom and former apprentice, grabbing the bars for support. "You can't destroy my lightsaber. Mom, it's the only thing I have left from Yavin IV and being a Jedi Knight and..."

Tears began flowing down Jaina's face as she looked at her mother's cold stare. She finally noticed her lightsaber hilt hanging off her mom's belt opposite her own and reached toward it, but her arm fell half a metre short. "...it's who I am...it's…Anakin...Dad...you can't..."

"I was just checking if you were listening," Leia said. She unhooked her daughter's lightsaber and tossed it between the bars where it clattered and rolled to a halt against the wall under the bed. "Erinn, you have a shuttle to catch. Please learn this lesson now so you don't have to go through this yourself."

As Leia and Erinn left the room, Jaina's teary eyes made contact with her former apprentice's eyes one last time. The door slammed shut and Jaina slumped to the floor, resting against the bars. After a moment she crawled over to where her lightsaber hilt was lying against the wall under the bed. She picked it up and caressed the hilt, looking it over like a long lost friend. She ran a finger over the gold ring just below the emitter and traced it down the body to the relatively high activation buttons modelled after an X-wing control stick, the gently curved choke in the middle, and the battery pack cylinder at the bottom where she had engraved her fallen brother and father's names. She had fought hundreds of opponents, slayed some of the worst Yuuzhan Vong warriors, and spent hours and hours of her life fine tuning it to be the perfect reflection of herself. She finally saw a scratch near the pommel that, despite all the weathering and abuse the hilt had taken over its eighteen year life, stood out like none of the others. It was new and shiny from some of the paint and tarnished metal being scratched away by the checkerboard deck plating of the brig floor. It took her a few moments of staring at it to realize that her mom had done it when she tossed it into the cell, but when she came to that realization, she was not angry.

Jaina distantly understood that she was just as banged up.

[[[[#]]]]]]]]=(=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The green column of energy that obliterated the primary Golan VI defense platform hovering above Corella was Jacen's first clue that intruders had entered the system.

"What the...?" Jacen exclaimed. Together he and Eriana traced the beam of light back to its origin across their view port and saw the Bogan fleet.

"They must have been waiting at the edge of the interdictor field for it to drop," Eriana said. With deft ease of having spent years as Jacen's co-pilot on the Solo Quest, they worked together to power the defense systems, charge the gun batteries, and activate the communication system on the secure frequency in rapid succession. "Mara, Lanos, break toward the Corellian defense fleet. We need to get them to turn off Centrepoint's gravity well so the Vornskr fleet can move in."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mara asked, but both ships turned and followed the Solo Quest toward Corellia.

"I've got seven hundred and fifty ships outside the gravity well that are too small for them to target with the superlaser," Eriana said. "That fleet has the combined firepower of over four hundred Imperial Star Destroyers and a hundred times the manoeuvrability. We're going to need that firepower if we're going to fight back, and my ships can't jump in with that gravity well up."

"We're still no match for that Obsidian," Jacen said off air. "And I don't know if a pirate fleet will want to risk their lives like this."

"We can't lose Corellia," Eriana shot back. "I'll negotiate with Corellia for salvage rights after the battle. That should keep everyone happy."

"Ship transmitting ident Solo Quest, please acknowledge," a voice came across the open air. "This is Master Sergeant Hariman of the Corellian Defense Force. We have a situation at hand and request you steer clear of the engagement area."

"Sergeant Hariman, this is Jedi Master Jacen Solo aboard the Solo Quest," Jacen replied. "I have two allied ships with me willing to join your forces. I need to speak to your superior immediately to discuss the attacking fleet. I have special knowledge and insight about their tactics."

A few moments of tense silence passed as the small formation of freighters traveled toward the amassing Corellian Defense fleet.

"Jedi Knight Solo, please engage encryption code JK-12 on frequency 842," a familiar voice came across the line.

Jacen passed Eriana a box of encryption cards and she selected the one labelled JK-12, insert it into the communication system and activated the encryption matrix.

"JK-12 online," Jacen acknowledged. "Corran, that you?"

"That's Admiral Horn to you, kid," Corran replied. "We'll discuss your choice of titles with the Council at a later date. What's your status?"

"What council?" Jacen muttered, but a smack on his arm from Eriana silenced him.

"Corran, this is Eriana. I've got seven hundred and fifty Black Vornskr attack ships outside the interdiction field that can help us. Can you drop the interdiction field?"

Another beam of light streamed away from the Bogan fleet, this time aimed at Centerpoint Station. It pierced through the ancient hull and punched a hole through the other side before terminating, but the gravity well remained active.

"Shavit!" Corran shouted. "Did you see that?"

"Looks like the Obsidian is heading toward Centerpoint while the rest of the fleet is heading toward you, Admiral." Lanos's voice intruded on the secure line. Jacen and Eriana exchanged confused glances, both trying to figure out how the resourceful Mandalorian crew obtained the Jedi encryption codes. "Recommend scrambling your ships to intercept."

The line went dead for a few tense moments while Corran began issuing orders to the defense fleet. The formation of the Solo Quest, Jade Shadow, and Squawking Mynock finally reached the defense fleet and waited next to one of the larger ships, a new three-hundred metre Dragon-class attack ship that had been designed by Corran, Luke and Han mere months ago based on the Pirhana-class warship that Admiral Pellaeon, Lowie and Danni Quee had created.

"We need to assault the ship," Eriana broke the silence. Jacen turned to look at her. "You and me. We'll use the cloak to sneak in, sabotage the power generators, and get out. The fleet can take care of the rest. As long as it is focused on Centerpoint it won't be a threat to the fleet."

"Just where I want to go," Jacen said. "Back onto one of those ships."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"None that will work," Jacen admitted. He pressed the PTT button on his control stick. "Corran, Mara, Lanos; this is Jacen. Eriana and I are going to infiltrate the Obsidian class destroyer and see if we can loosen up their defenses a bit. You focus on the fleet."

"Jacen, we can't lose Centrepoint station," Corran said. "We need to distract the Obsidian."

"The only way you're going to do that is if you put a more valuable target in its sight," Jacen said. "And the only thing more valuable than that is something with a superlaser in it. Don't know about you, but I don't see any Death Stars or Darksabers orbiting around Corellia. We need to board the ship and disable it from the inside. It's the only way we'll stop it."

"Want help?" Lanos's gruff voice asked.

"Negative," Jacen responded and throttled up, breaking formation toward the giant ship in the distance. "This is one of those bad ideas that I don't want anyone else to be dragged into."

"Lanos, I'm transferring command of Cooper's fleet to you until I return," Eriana said and rattled off a command code. "Trust his strategy, but keep an eye on him. He can be brilliant when he wants to be. HK-47 is following him like a shadow to make sure he follows orders. That code will be recognized by HK-47, so don't hesitate to use him if you have to."

As the Solo Quest pulled away from the Corellian defense fleet, Eriana switched to the private frequency for the Black Vornskr command lines and engaged the cloaking field. Through the tell-tale shimmer of the field, they watched in an eerie silence as the Obsidian class ship punched another hole through Centerpoint station.

"There must not be anything solid to hit," Jacen remarked, recalling the design of Centerpoint station. The middle was largely empty, occupied by a miniature star and an atmosphere that clung to the inside wall.

"They must be firing blind hoping to hit the gravity well generator," Eriana said. She consulted the controls. "We'll be close enough to dock in under five minutes. EV?"

"Yeah," Jacen said. "You okay to pilot while I suit up?"

"Of course," Eriana said and switched the controls to her side of the cockpit. Already wearing her infamous Bha'lir armour, she was ready for combat. She looked up at him as he stood and smiled. "Feels good, just the two of us against the galaxy again."

Jacen paused at the door on his way out. "Things have changed so much since then. I miss this."

"Your fault. Getting married…having kids…"

Jacen rolled his eyes and walked away. By the time Jacen returned wearing his Mandalorian armour that had been re-painted to resemble Jedi robes, Eriana was easing the ship through the Obsidian's overlapped shield array near the hanger deck.

"I found an empty hanger bay that is decompressed," Eriana said. "There are dozens of them all along this side of the hull. We should be able to sneak into the ship from one of them easily."

"Good idea," Jacen said and sat in the pilot's chair. He adjusted the seat backwards to accommodate for the added bulk of the suit of armour and cued to Heads-Up-Display to interact with his helmet. "I spent some time over the last couple days going over the schematics that HK-47 pulled on the last ship we were on. There are eight separate hypermatter reactors spaced evenly down the middle of the ship. We'll probably have to take at least four of them out to deplete their shields enough for our fleet to put a dent in them and prevent them from using the superlaser. There are about fifty shield generators around the hull, so it'll be easier to go after the main reactors."

Eriana eased the ship into the desolate hanger bay of her choosing and powered down the ship.

"I'll leave the cloak on and the engines primed," Eriana said. "You ready for this?"

"Nope," Jacen said and flicked the last switch on the power down sequence. "But when are we ever?"

[[[[#]]]]]]]]=(=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mara ran into the command centre of Corran's Corellian Dreadnaught and stopped just beside the other Jedi Master outside the range of the holocam that he was shouting into.

"Aidel, by the Force, we need those ships! Drop the interdiction field!"

"Corran, I'm getting enough flak from my opposition right now about us disabling Centerpoint's offensive capability, not to mention distrust about the Jedi endangering our safe haven by deactivating the field! Use our fleet. We're mobilizing assets from Selonia, Drall, Talus and Tralus, but it will take time at subspace."

"Well at this rate the interdiction field will be down soon anyway!" Corran shouted back and terminated the connection.

"Political problems?" Mara asked with a smirk.

"Not helping, Jade," Corran barked and retreated toward the tactical display in the centre of the room. Mara joined him and looked at the holographic images of the ships appearing across the battlefield. After a few moments of assessing the fleet capabilities, Mara shook her head.

"This is not good."

"What was your first clue?" Corran snapped. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Sorry. I've got gunships and freighters coming out of my ears, which are great against fighters, but I only have twenty real capital ships against their three hundred."

"And a hundred Dragons," Mara pointed to the cluster of ships that Corran had helped design. "And some Stridents. You also outnumber them on fighters."

"Fat lot that'll do for us," Corran said and looked up at the three officers standing across the holodisplay from him awaiting his orders. "Okay, here's what we're doing: have the dreadnaughts and stridents pull back to flank our five remaining Golans and use the tractor beams to start dragging those platforms toward the enemy fleet. Set up the dragons, corvettes and gunships in a bomber screen five hundred kilometres out, and send in the attack fighters and A-10 interceptors to engage. Mara, I want you to lead fighter group Echo. We'll keep the Shriek bombers and the freighters in reserve behind the fighter screen until the capital ships get closer."

As the three officers began issuing Corran's orders, Mara and Corran's eyes met. She nodded, understanding the unspoken acknowledgement of impending doom, and took off at a run back to her ship.

[[[[#]]]]]]]]=(=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Jedi."

Zara turned her head to look at Wyyrlok. Deep within the Tormentor, she had been watching as the battle progressed until the growled name of their enemies distracted her. The Corellian defense fleet was proving more capable than they had initially expected, so the presence of Jedi was not entirely impossible. The fleet's goal was to distract the Corellians long enough for the Tormentor to disable or destroy Centrepoint and make it possible for them to return and finish off Corellia if necessary. Her goal was to give Jacen one fewer place to hide while she tracked him down.

"Of course there are Jedi here," Zara sneered back. "Where else would they cower in fear from us if not behind a gravity well generator?"

"No," Wyyrlok said and pointed to one of the displays in front of him. "A cloaked ship triggered an alarm in one of the empty hanger bays. Nobody but a Jedi would be reckless enough to board one of our ships."

"Can you image the ship?" Zara asked and crossed the bridge to join him at the console. She reached past him and triggered the infrared sensors to reveal the distinctive rough outline of a YT-2400 frigate.

"It could be any commando group," Zara said. "That is a Corellian design. There are thousands of those in this sector."

"Remain here while I deal with this," Wyyrlok ordered her. "Continue the attack on Centerpoint."

Wyyrlok left the bridge and Zara watched as his back disappeared behind the doors. She glanced back at the YT-2400 outline on the display and squinted.

Is that you, Jacen? Zara asked herself. She switched off the display and took a quick look around the bridge. She found the captain and ordered him to continue the attack on Centerpoint before marching off the bridge.