Chapter Thirty-one
The large conference room was remodeled to look more like a high-class hall. Rich, plush, wine-red carpet covered the floor. Four small wooden tables lined either side of the room. Each table was set with a cream-colored table runner and two gold candlesticks, each with a candle that matched the carpet. Various beings were socializing around the room. After the Smuggler's Alliance had agreed to help Jag, Booster had appeared with the Errant Venture. They were still in the Bespin system.
Jaina leaned against the back wall, arms crossed over her chest. Booster, being Booster, invited everyone on the base to come relax and spend credits. Wedge himself had boarded the red Star Destroyer to visit with Booster. He'd brought along Syal and Myri, who were currently racing around one of the more kid-friendly areas Booster had installed after the birth of Valin. Davin and Ani were with them. That night, Ani and Davin would return to the base with their grandmother Syal.
Jaina had volunteered the Dozen to help back at the base. Four TIE Squadrons had shown up that morning with orders directly from Pellaeon to give their support. The rest of the firepower was coming from the Chiss. Jag's teams of three had left two days ago. Each member had a hidden communication device to use to send a signal. The signal would alert the extraction teams to jump to the system. Vessels piloted by the smugglers were charged with picking up the actual team, and all the slaves they could fit. The Chiss were going to commence the mop-up, as they had on Barab I. Several soldiers from the base were allowed an hour or two of leave aboard the Errant Venture. Booster had closed off some of his vast mobile resort, but left enough parts open to offer some entertainment. For many, the opportunity to simply leave the base was welcome.
At least, that was the original arrangement. Once Colonel Klar sent word to the Empire, several Moffs sent aid. They weren't about to risk the Chiss taking over any of the planets they helped liberate. When the Galactic Alliance Ruling Council heard about it, they ordered the Third Fleet to help. For once, the political bickering had worked to their advantage.
"Enjoying yourself, Jaina?" Lando asked, appearing next to her. He was holding a tall, thin glass halfway full of bright green liquid. She could see a couple pieces of yellow fruit on a pink plastic skewer floating inside.
"I suppose so," she said. She had accompanied the rest of her family aboard the Star Destroyer. Jag was meeting with the rest of the smugglers.
"Where are the kids?" he asked. He plucked a glass off a tray and shoved it into her hands.
"With Wedge's children," she responded. She eyed the dark colored liquid in the glass.
"Relax," Lando said with a laugh, "That's the good stuff."
Jaina smirked, "From?"
"Corellia. Pre-war," Lando said with a wink. "Don't tell Booster."
Jaina chuckled as she lifted the glass to her lips. She paused when she sensed Jag enter the room. He found her easily enough.
"Everything in order?" Lando asked as the younger man approached.
Jag nodded firmly. "Yes."
"Excellent," Lando stated. "I see Tendra over there. You two have a good afternoon."
Jaina and Jag said goodbye as Lando slipped back through the crowd. Jag slipped an arm around her waist as he asked, "Are you ready to pick up the kids?"
She nodded, "I sent the last of my pilots to get some sleep fifteen minutes ago."
"We're bumping up departure time an hour," Jag told her apologetically. "The Chandrilla team sent their first signal."
"Oh, good," Jaina responded. "Did Telma do something to the poisons to make them work faster?
"She and Danni have been improving them constantly," Jag stated. "This wouldn't be possible without them."
Jaina set her now-empty glass on the closest server droid's tray. She took Jag's hand as they walked out of the room. They weaved through the gradually thinning crowd. They would have about two hours with their children before Ani and Davin left with Wedge and the rest of their family. Afterwards, all the ships would travel to their various rendezvous points. Jaina and the Dozen were going to Chandrilla. Jag was flying lead for the Spikes again, also at Chandrilla. Soontir had specially requested to work with that planet. Neither Jag nor Jaina had returned to the system since he'd been taken years ago. They would wait just outside the system until the signal came through.
Jaina paused in front of the door leading to the children's area. Within the next seventy-two hours, everything would change. Either way, they were in this together. Jag gave her a quizzical look as he asked, "Are you okay?"
Jaina slung her arms around his neck and whispered, "Just fine."
Britna sat cross-legged on a spongy growth inside of a slave hut on Kalee. Four people from Bakura were sitting with her. During her time on the planet, she had spent her time updating the many captives about what was going on in the galaxy. As she had predicted the slaves had accepted her information more readily because she had taken the time to inform them about their homeworld.
"Britna," a young man named Tyi said as he ducked into the room, "There's some new people here saying they know you."
Britna excused herself and followed him out of the hut. She wondered if it was the back-up group. She hoped so. The damuteks and other structures she and the other tampered with were ready to fall. She was no scientist, but she suspected that they would fall within the next couple of days.
Tyi led Britna throw the huts and into the dining structure. The slaves had built tables and low benches to sit at instead of using grown furniture. The Vong hadn't protested because the slaves had used natural materials, saving the Vong their own. Tyi pointed to three beings sitting at the center table.
"Ah, Britna!" the woman greeted as she gestured for Britna to sit down. The Vong guarding the room, two Warriors with few tattoos and no visible implants, paid little attention to the group. They were used to the slaves gathering. As long as they weren't doing anything suspicious, the slaves were left alone.
"Hello," the human male of the group greeted. His black hair was slicked back out of his face. A thin mustache sat over his lip. He looked like a card player from an old-style holodrama. She didn't recognize him, but she did recognize the third member of the group. The small Chadra-Fan Kei greeted her. Britna had met her at the refugee camp. She sat down and told them the situation. They had lost one member of their team, but everyone else was fine. The toxins were working well. Kei, in turn, told her what was going on; the other members of the first team had told her what had happened since their arrival.
Britna dropped her voice to a whisper, "Just look like you are working around the structures." Britna reached down to the dirt floor and scooped up some stones. She dropped them on the table and arranged them to look roughly like the camp. She pointed out which buildings needed toxins. She swiped the gravel off the table before any of the guards noticed what she was doing.
"Meleyanne, send the signal," Kei instructed in a low voice. Each member left the table slowly to look as if nothing was going on. Meleyanne, the woman, left first. Britna followed, slipping back towards the huts. She needed to prepare the slaves. Everything was in motion; it was live or die now.
The only sounds in the room came from the rumbling engines of Soontir Fel's Star Destroyer as it hurtled through hyperspace. Jaina lay on the bunk with her cheek pressed against Jag's chest. Normally, the sound and vibrations from the engines would have lulled her to sleep, but tonight they couldn't calm her thoughts. Jag's arm tightened around her briefly as he slept. She had been exhausted hours ago, but her racing mind was determined to keep her awake.
Zekk and Lowie had trained with the squadron that afternoon. Jaina was confident that they would work well with the rest of the Dozen. The addition of two Jedi bolstered her confidence in their success. Neither one could replace Kyp, who was irate that he'd been ordered to sit out, but they were the next best people to have.
Jaina had fought to be sent to Chandrilla. They had wanted to send her to one of the other systems. She had argued that Chandrilla was an important cultural area as well as a morale boost. She played up the idea that with three Jedi in the squadron it would be successful. Of course, that wasn't true, but she was willing to let them believe it this time. She needed to be there because Jag was going to be there. There was no way she was going to let him return to that planet alone. She buried her face in his side. She had to get some sleep. The next "day" they would be a micro-jump away from Chandrilla, ready for the call.
"Jaina?" Jag murmured groggily.
"Go back to sleep," she said.
"Are you alright?" he asked twisting to face her. He stroked her cheek with the back of his finger.
"Just thinking," she said with a small smile. He flattened his hand against her cheek as she continued to speak. "Zekk and Lowie should work out fine."
"With you in charge, no doubt," Jag commented. He glanced past her at the chrono on the wall. "We're exiting hyperspace in six hours."
"How long do you think we're going to wait?"
He gently pulled her to lie on top of him. "I have no idea."
Jaina propped her chin up on her hands on his chest. "After you land, you're turning the Spikes over to me."
"Yes and Commander Vhiram is none too happy about it," Jag commented.
Jaina smirked, "No doubt there. I can't say I blame him."
"You're the only one I trust to keep things in control up there," Jag told her. She leaned up and placed a quick kiss on his lips.
"I rearranged the flight groups some. Only Flight Two is without a Jedi. Lowie is with Flight Three and Zekk's with Four."
"Are the new pilots going to be able to handle the shadow bombs?"
Jaina let out a frustrated groan, "I put one veteran in each group."
Jag began massaging the knots out of her back. She dropped her forehead to his shoulder. She closed her eyes as he said, "The veterans know what to do."
"Between you, Kyp and I they should have it down. It's the rookies I worry about. They've had training inside the cockpit, but…" her voice trailed off.
"It's not the same as real combat," he finished. She yawned, and slid off him. She kept one arm draped over his chest. She closed her eyes and finally fell asleep.
Tahiri watched with concern as Araneya ran her fingertips over the soft mattress in the small room she had been given on Phelope. She pushed down on the fabric warily. Having slept on the ground for the past several years, a bed was something she had forgotten about. No one had argued when Tahiri insisted that Araneya accompany her back to the Jedi hideout. Araneya's bedroom was next to Tahiri's.
"Do you foresee any problems?" Ala, a Jedi Healer, asked. She was one of the two healers stationed on the base. She was from Dathomir.
Tahiri shrugged, "I'm not sure. Sometimes she is completely lucid. Other times she babbles incoherently. The weirdest moments are when she has a conversation with you, and then thinks you are a hallucination."
Ala pressed her lips into a thin line and furrowed her brow. She had expressed concerns with housing an unbalanced woman so close to the Jedi trainees. She grudgingly accepted the arrangements when Luke and Tahiri insisted that Araneya wasn't dangerous. From the episodes Tahiri had witnessed so far, she didn't lash out. She had no aggressive tendencies.
"This is…nice?" Araneya stated, as if she wasn't sure. "What am I allowed to do?"
"You can go out in the courtyard I showed you, or the recreation room. There will be Jedi trainees around," Tahiri responded.
Araneya nodded, "Okay. Thank you. I think I'll stay here for now."
Tahiri and Ala left the room. As Tahiri closed the door, she could hear Araneya mutter incoherently. Tahiri thanked Ala for her help and turned down the hallway. She had spent the voyage back from Yavin IV talking with Araneya. Tahiri hadn't been able to piece much of history together. She was fairly certain that Araneya was from Naboo. She had described her visit to Theed, the planet's capital. She also knew the names of several past leaders. She had left the planet as a young girl and moved somewhere in the Outer Rim. She wasn't able to tell Tahiri the name of the planet, only that she lived with her mother.
Tahiri entered a room used for lightsaber drills. She'd promised Jysella she would help her practice. Jysella was leaving with Octa in two days for Bimmiel. Octa had been more than willing to take on Jysella. When Tahiri watched them interact, or any Master/Apprentice team, she found herself wishing she could do something to help. She may have been promoted to a Jedi Knight, but she hardly felt like one. Throughout the years, she had gone on missions with various Jedi, including Corran, Kyp and Kyle.
"Oh good, Tahiri, you're here," Jysella said. She was wearing tan pants and a light colored tunic with brown boots. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. She bounced from one foot to the other, tossing her lightsaber hilt between her hands. The crystal had been a gift from her grandfather and produced a blue beam.
"Nervous?" Tahiri responded as she shrugged off her robe and tossed it to the floor. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, securing it with the band she kept around her wrist.
"I'm sparring with Octa in two hours," she said.
"For the first time?" Tahiri asked. She unhooked her lightsaber from her belt and thumbed on the blade. She held it in front of her as she struck a defensive pose. She was letting Jysella make the first move. She had sparred with Jysella many times and was familiar with her particular style.
"Yes," Jysella answered as she turned on her blade. She took an offensive stance and attacked. Tahiri blocked her blade quickly. Jysella attacked again; this time Tahiri dodged right. The two continued, Jysella taking the more offensive role. Tahiri flipped over her and began to press her own attack. Jysella, light on her feet, avoided her attacks with a series of side steps.
Ocat entered the room. Upon sensing her, Tahiri and Jysella stopped their duel. They extinguished their blades and saluted each other before bowing to Octa.
"Master Ramis," Tahiri greeted as she walked by. She started to slip out of the room, but Octa stopped her. "Stay. I'd like to run through yours and Jysella's maneuvers."
Tahiri tipped her head. Jysella smiled at her gratefully. Whether Octa asked Tahiri to stay to ease Jysella's nerves or not, it had certainly had that effect.
"Okay," Octa said, rubbing her hands together. "Let's get started."