The Birth Of Acceptance

  Chapter 4

By Sienn (2002)

 

Rating (for chapter):  PG-13

Protagonists: Luke/Mara

Category: Action/Angst/Drama

 

Series: Part III of "Soul's Trial" Trilogy

 

Time Frame: 26 A.Y. (immediately after "Soul's Trial II: Healing")

 

Spoilers:

See Chapter 1

 

Disclaimer:

See Chapter 1

 

Yuuzhan Vong Worldship Direen, Belkadan Orbit, Shapers' Laboratories, 2 Days Later

"How are you proceeding, Nen Yim? Is everything going well?" Mezhan Kwaad sat casually on her sleeping pad, polishing her tool fingers.

The last days had been utterly boring for her. On their way to Belkadan, she had helped her apprentice breed more of the bugs the young woman had used against the late Master Shaper Taal Riid. Unbeknownst to Nen Yim, Kwaad had manipulated some of the bugs for her personal purpose. They would make a wonderful surprise for a certain being.

The two Yuuzhan Vong women had arrived on the worldship Direen above Belkadan four days ago. A good time before Luke Skywalker and the infidel task force had entered the system and set to work.

To set her plan into motion, Kwaad had needed every single minute of this lead she had on the Jeedai. Unfortunately, her position within her own race didn't allow her to move freely on the worldship. To execute her plan, she had to trust on her apprentice.

Mezhan was not particularly surprised that she wasn't very comfortable with this fact. Nen Yim was intelligent, ambitious, cruel and devoted to her. But she was also curious. She wanted to know what sort of fate Kwaad had intended for Luke Skywalker - previously and presently alike. But the Master Shaper was not willing to share this knowledge, this plan, with the younger woman. Although she liked her new apprentice, she didn't trust her.

In her whole life, Mezhan Kwaad had trusted only a single being, and he had disappointed her. Betrayed her trust. After that, she had come to see that she couldn't afford trust in any form if she wanted to succeed. She was aware that Nen Yim was hurt that her Master didn't share her whole concept with her. But this didn't matter to Kwaad.

If it came to her, Nen Yim was no more than another tool. She didn't care for her, just for what she was capable of and the possibilities that she offered. That was all.

It was obvious, though, that the young Yuuzhan Vong thought differently. But in the end, this was her problem and not Mezhan's.

"Very well, Master Shaper." Nen Yim reported, slightly out of breath. To keep the worldship going was a task that was almost too much for an apprentice like Yim.
Though she had tricked everyone into believing she was a Master Shaper, Mezhan well knew that the girl was far away from this position indeed. The double work for her and the worldship took a toll on her. Kwaad only hoped that this wouldn't influence her plan.

Catching her breath, the girl continued: "I have spread the bugs all over the ship, except for the areas you told me to let out."

Kwaad smiled and rose. "Very good."

Yim smiled and bowed shortly, then asked: "Master, why should I let out the captain's quarters, the aft hangar and the corridors in between? Do we want the Commander to live through it?"

The Master Shaper perched an eyebrow. "We do want to."

When she saw the puzzlement on her apprentice's face, she gave a pitiful smile. "There is still much you have to learn, Nen Yim. What do you think will be worse for him? To die with his people and his ship or to step before Tsavong Lah as the one who has survived the perishing of all those who have been under his protection?"

It took a small while, but when Yim's eyes finally widened in understanding, Kwaad nodded. "I see you are able to think, despite of your unqualified question."

The girl blushed, averting her eyes and looking on the floor, ashamed. Mezhan allowed herself a broad smile, then grasped a yorik coral box from her shelf and gave it to Yim.

"Spread those in the areas that are yet untouched."

Opening the box, Nen's eyes widened. "But, Master.. those are… I mean… I don't understand. I already did…"

"Don't question me, Apprentice. Do as I tell you. It is none of your business. Understood?"

Nen Yim stared for a moment baffled into the narrowed eyes of her Master, then nodded and hurried out of the room.

Mezhan Kwaad cackled to herself, sank down to the floor and made herself comfortable. The preparations were done. The play could begin.

 

New Republic Flagship, Sernpidal Orbit, 1 Day Later, Early Morning

Luke Skywalker sat up in his bed, suddenly wide-awake. For a moment, he was disoriented, but only seconds later, his brain caught up with his eyes and ears and he remembered where he was. The flagship of the Sernpidal task force. His quarters.

A glance onto the chronometer next to his bed made him frown. It was too early. He had planned to wake two hours from now. Why was he awake now? Normally, if he planned to get up at a certain time, he could rely on his inner clock to let him open his eyes just at the desired moment. It was not like him to wake too early.

Luke lay back again, staring into the darkness. He knew what had roused him. Now that the adrenaline shock from being flung back to reality so suddenly had worn off, he felt it again. Clear like a homing beacon in the vastness of deep space. Dread. Danger. Menace.

Propping himself up on an elbow, he fished for his commlink, keying in the code for the bridge. "Yes?" a female voice greeted him, sounding bored and tired. A typical night shift lieutenant, he supposed.

"Skywalker here. Is everything all right up there?" Only belatedly, Luke realised how foolish he must sound to this bridge officer. But his question was asked. And if he thought back to previous experiences of this sort, he was right to follow his instinct. It had saved his life too often in the past.

The short, but intense silence that followed his query told him that he had indeed startled the officer on bridge duty, but she caught herself quickly.

"Yes, Master Jedi. Everything is all right. All systems are running perfectly."

"Are you sure? Are the long-range sensors working? Shields up and running?"

Now the voice sounded definitely amused. Probably she thought he had some sort of phobia.

"Absolutely sure, Master Skywalker. The sensor sweeps come in every quarter of an hour. Nothing we have to worry about. The shields are up on fifty percent. They can be brought to full power in less than…"

"Ten seconds, I know." Luke finished for her, sighing soundlessly. He was well aware of what Mon Calamari starships could do and what not. He had commanded them often enough. Studied them. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Good night." He murmured.

"Good night, Master Skywalker." A low click indicated that she had signed off and Luke let himself fall back onto his mattress. Wonderful. Was he really paranoid?

But no. This nagging feeling of impending doom was no imagination. It was there. It was in the Force. It was, wasn't it?

Closing his eyes, he shook his head softly and tried to go back to sleep. There was nothing he could do. No immediate danger was recognizable. Whatever or whoever was in trouble, Luke was not able to help her or him or them.

With little problem, he sent his Force senses out and checked on his friends and family. They were sleeping. All of them. Sleeping peacefully. None of them was in danger. All those he loved were safe and sound. So what was troubling him like that? And why did he let it trouble him? There was no reason for that. In the past he had often had phases like those, worrying over fates and problems that were not his own, but brought to him by his extreme sensitivity to the Force. It could be that on some of the unconquered planets in nearby systems someone was robbed or even killed. He was not indifferent to it, but he couldn't change it and would not let it take his sleep. He needed his sleep.

Luke rolled onto his side and buried his head in his pillow. Minutes later, he was fast asleep again. But the feeling of dread stayed with him. More subtle, more subdued. But it was still there.

*~~

"So we have around ten small settlements of survivors on the western hemisphere of Sernpidal?" Luke asked, surprise obvious on his face. He had expected to find survivors. But that many… It was more than he had hoped for. Yet, it was curious that on the eastern hemisphere, no one had managed to live through the earthquakes and natural catastrophes that had followed the breaking of the planet. Sernpidal had been a relatively big planet. His moon had been small.

The impact had been enough to break the planet into two halves. The people that had lived on the line of breaking had stood no chance to survive the disaster, but those that had lived at the most eastern and western points of the planet had been incredibly lucky.
If the planet hadn't broken, the consequences of the moon's crash-landing would have been fatal. Nothing and no one would have survived. But now that the parts of the planet were smaller, the earthquakes weren't so serious and there had been no masses of clouds that had assembled in the atmosphere and hidden the sun, condemning the plants and animals to die.

Hobbie Klivian nodded, fidgeting with his datapad. It was a habit of his that had always been unnerving to Luke, but as a Jedi Master, he was not supposed to be irritated by something like this. This was one of the rare situations where he wished to be a simple squadron commander. As such, he would have been allowed to take this datapad from Hobbie and smack it into his face. Now he had to trust on Wes to do that for him. It was not half as much fun.

"We estimate that we have at least five thousand people living there. We can't tell for sure of course, we would have to land and count them, but judging by the survey data and the number of shelter we have found, we think at least that many beings have survived the crash."

"Did they notice your starfighters?" The Jedi Master queried, snatching the datapad from his old-time friend and surveying the data himself. For a moment, he saw Hobbie's indignant face in the corner of his eye, but the pilot knew better than to complain.

"I don't think so." Wes shook his head.

"I guess after two years of living in the shadow of the Yuuzhan Vong, they won't be very trusting about anything coming from above until it is near enough for them to recognise as mechanical." Corran threw in, sipping at a cup of caf. It had been a while since he had spent large amounts of time in a X-Wing. Though he had enjoyed it, it had exhausted him more than he cared to admit to himself.

Luke nodded. "You're probably right. Nonetheless, we have to go down there next time. Wedge, do we have enough researchers, doctors and specialists to make ten groups out of it? And ten shuttles to house them, with additional transportation for ill people?"

The Corellian General leaned back in his chair, furrowing his forehead as he went through all the ships he had brought with him. After a while, he nodded: "I think we could manage that. Do you want to launch those expeditions today?"

"Sure." Luke tossed the datapad back to Hobbie, then leaned onto the conference table. "Every shuttle will get a squadron to accompany it down, for air cover. The research teams will get a squad of soldiers each, in case the villagers are suspicious enough to try to defend themselves. Rogue Squadron will fly cover in space."

The ever-sad face of Hobbie stared up at him. "You don't expect any false play from our scar-loving friends, do you?"

"Yuuzhan Vong, Klivian. They are called Yuuzhan Vong. I can spell it for you, if you want to." Wes chimed in.

Luke rolled his eyes at the familiar banter, then turned to Corran. "You won't fly with Rogue Squadron."

"I won't?"

"No. You'll take Wes and will fly cover over Belkadan. We will begin to evacuate the refugees today. If everything goes according to plan, we will be finished with this by tomorrow morning and have the remaining four days to go down onto the planet itself and take care of the slaves."

"The Belkadan commander actually agreed to free all the slaves?" Anakin blurted out, causing everyone to swivel his or her heads around and stare at the boy. He had been silent so far, aware that all these people had much more experience in matters like this than he had.

His uncle gave him a stern glance, though he obviously didn't succeed in totally hiding an amused smile. "If you hadn't asked to be shown the hangars, you would have been present at the meeting yesterday. Commander Hiirk has not protested against the conditions of the peace treaty. I have already informed the doctors and medical specialists we have with us to prepare to go down to Belkadan and assess the slaves tomorrow afternoon."

Anakin blushed, but only for a moment. Then he straightened and smirked: "I guess that's the reason why we're two Jedi here, right?" Luke perched an eyebrow, but he was smiling now and nodded: "I guess you've grasped the concept, Anakin. Next time, I'll have the fun and you're going to discuss the politics."

His nephew stared at him for a moment, taking a few seconds to make sure this was just a joke, then scratched his head and settled back into his corner. He should know better than to taunt his uncle by now. Yet, he couldn't resist trying whenever he could.

*~~

"You know, it doesn't look as if it will fall apart anytime soon." Corran Horn stated, mustering the huge worldship that grew bigger in his viewport with every second.

"It doesn't, but it's very old." Anakin answered from his starboard wing. Corran had to give the young Solo credit for his flying skills. Even a skilled onlooker wouldn't have been able to tell that the boy was no seasoned fighter pilot. But Anakin was brash and daring. A little too much for a Jedi, as Corran thought, but exactly the right amount to qualify as a Rogue. He supposed Luke would take care of this eagerness sooner or later.

"Anakin, your shields are down." Luke's calm voice kept Corran from replying to the young Solo.

"I know, Uncle... err, Master Skywalker. I thought I…"

"Don't think too much. Get them up and running and that soon." Corran frowned, barely acknowledging Anakin's mumbled reply. The boy took it to his heart if Luke criticised him, but with time he would learn to distinguish between his uncle and his Jedi Master. To not associate criticism  with denial of love.

Switching to the private channel Luke and he shared whenever they flew together, the Corellian Jedi cleared his throat. "Luke, is everything okay?"

The short hesitation before the Jedi Master replied was everything Corran needed to tell that the following words were nothing but a polite lie.

"Sure. Why shouldn't it be?"

"Technically, we don't need shields right now."

"It can never be bad to be prepared, Corran." Luke's voice sounded indifferent, but his friend was sure he had caught some short flicker of wariness in the other's Force presence. Recalling everything Mara and Han had told him, Corran was determined not to let this pass unnoticed.

"Do you feel something?" he asked over the intercom, unconsciously checking on his sensors. Of course Whistler, his R2 unit, would give him a warning long before any danger could creep up on him, but Luke's over-protectiveness made him suspicious. Over the years, he had learned that it was seldom wise to ignore a Jedi Master's hunches. Even more so when the Jedi Master was named Luke Skywalker.

"You're not going to back off, are you?" Luke's calm voice asked after a while.

"Nope."

"And you're not going to believe me if I tell you I merely want to drill some piloting lessons into him?"

"Nope."

"Corran, sometimes I downright despise you."

The annoyance in the Jedi Master's voice was playful and Corran couldn't help but grin. "You know that I'm just here to unnerve you, Luke. So what's the matter?"

Another pause. Finally, Luke sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

"And you're telling me that NOW??"

Luke laughed: "Oh, come on. If it was THAT bad, I'd have told you long ago. It's nothing important, really. Probably just the overall emotions that are still permeating this system from two years ago."

"With all due respect, Master, but I think you're not telling me everything here." It was a long shot, actually, and Corran knew it. Luke seldom confided into someone if one was pushing. But since the very first day they were in this system, the Jedi Master had seemed to ponder something. When he was thinking himself unnoticed, a frown was creasing his forehead and it was obvious that he was thinking hard about something that troubled him.

"What do you mean?" the caution in Luke's voice was obvious.

Corran's suspicion only hardened. "Since you've come back from Belkadan two days ago, you've been thinking about something. Thinking about it very hard."

"I've been thinking about a lot of things. The evacuation, the liberation of the slaves, Mara."

"Luke, you know I'm not talking about that." The Corellian interrupted him, adjusting the speed of his vessel to keep a reasonable pace. He wanted to drag this talk out. Luke had to tell him this now, before he docked on the worldship and Corran would be cut off from him for a while.

"You have studied much of the information we have gathered about Vong culture in the last few months, haven't you?"

The Jedi Master's sudden question caught Corran off-guard. Frowning deeply, he nodded. Belatedly recalling that his friend couldn't see him, he gave an affirmation.

Slowly, the whole talk began to unnerve Corran and make him nervous. They were almost there and Luke's ship would vanish any moment in the belly of the worldship.
He just wanted to open his mouth and urge the Jedi Master to answer, when Luke's calm voice sounded in his ears again.

"You have researched names. I know that."

Corran fell back and watched how Anakin steered his X-Wing into the docking bay right before Luke. "Yes, I have. Luke, I don't understand…"

"Are there many Yuuzhan Vong named Liin?"

"What? Why do you want to…"

"Corran!" Luke's voice sounded urgent now, while he steered his own vessel after Anakin, at a slow pace that just about hid the fact that he was playing for time. "Answer my question."

"Well, no."

"There are none with this name on this worldship?"

"Certainly not. Luke, what is this all about?"

"It is unimportant. I was just curious. Keep your eyes open. See you later." With this, Luke ended the connection and the X-Wing disappeared into the hangar bay.

Corran looked for a moment onto the place it had just been, then veered off on escort duty. His R2 gave a low hoot behind him. "I have absolutely no idea what he was talking about, Whistler. You know, he is a Jedi Master. He has his quirks." But this didn't sound very convincing even to Corran's own ears. Activating the orbit around the worldship and Belkadan that he had pre-programmed, the Corellian settled back, replaying the talk before his inner eye.

"Whistler?"

An answering twitter.

"Be so kind and go through all the Warriors, Shapers and civilians we have listed since we agreed on the peace treaty."

Another twitter, this time a little more questioning.

"Everything and everyone that's called Liin. And I KNOW that will take you some hours. Do it nonetheless."

*~~

Luke bowed low in front of Commander Hiirk and the Yuuzhan Vong Warrior granted him the same honour. Turning towards the well-known corridor to his office, the small group set into motion.

"We have prepared everything." Hiirk explained. "At my signal, people will gather in the hangars, mount transports and be sent off to the planet you have chosen for us. I trust everything is ready there?"

Luke nodded. "Of course. We have had Yuuzhan Vong Shapers meet with our researchers. They have confirmed that the planet is suitable for you. Air, water, soil. No toxic substances that could endanger you or any of your vital animals and plants."

Hiirk nodded: "This is perfect."

"The rest is up to you." Anakin added. In the past days, he had grown to be at ease at his uncle's side and had even started to take part in some of the discussions. He had been very proud when Luke had praised him after having stayed calm during a particularly heated discussion about the way Yuuzhan Vong tended to alter their environment.

It was good to have his uncle back with him. In the past two years, Anakin had missed Luke. Since his very first memories, the blue-eyed Jedi Master had always been there.
He had not really understood what had happened between Luke and Mara on Ithor and he didn't know whether his mother had told him everything about the Jedi Master's time in Yuuzhan Vong hands.

Anakin knew Luke had been tortured. He knew his uncle and his wife had had some problems. But that was about it. Nonetheless, the young Jedi apprentice had perceived that there was more. Much more. The fuss his mother and father made about his uncle, the gazes they threw at each other when they talked about him and the talk Corran had had with Mara and Leia before they had left Coruscant  – Anakin might be young, but he was not blind.

All this had confirmed to him that something was not completely as he thought it to be. And now Corran and his uncle had had a secret talk Anakin hadn't been allowed to follow.

Of course they had used a private channel. He wasn't even supposed to know about it, but Anakin DID know about it. Subtle shifts in attention he had caught. But mostly the fact that Luke hadn't chided him when he had brought his shields only up to half-power. The Jedi Master had concentrated on something else than him.

A soft nudge from his uncle brought Anakin back to the present, out of his musings. Luke's deep-blue eyes mustered him, a question obvious in them. Anakin shook his head slightly, giving Luke the impression he had just daydreamed. He knew from experience that his uncle wouldn't want him to worry. So he would not show him that he was worried. It was that simple.

Satisfied with himself, Anakin followed the Jedi Master and the Yuuzhan Vong Commander into the office they had spent so many hours in during the past couple of days.

*~~

Nen Yim watched as the yorik coral sealed itself behind the young infidel that accompanied Skywalker. They had almost caught her. If they hadn't talked vividly about the organisation of the worldship's evacuation, she wouldn't have noticed them and they'd have caught her red-handed, burying her precious animals in the yorik coral walls all along the corridor.

But now she had finished and stuffed the coral box that had housed the bugs into her robe. Skywalker was not overly impressive and Nen really wondered why her Master was so fixated on him. Why everyone was.

Mezhan Kwaad was not going to tell her anything about the second ancient protocol she had wanted to use on him. This was frustrating to her. No matter how good a work she did, the Master Shaper didn't trust her. Nen felt that. She was suspicious and wouldn't even tell her how she had learned that Skywalker was going to be on Sernpidal.

Did she have a spy within the ranks of the New Republic? This would be amazing. Unbelievable almost. But then, Mezhan Kwaad was special. No one matched her cunning.
Nen Yim thought herself to be extremely intelligent, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what Kwaad's actions were about.  She knew that the Master Shaper wanted to be at the head of her caste and get rid of Tsavong Lah. But how exactly?

Everything she, her apprentice, was told were the small steps. And that only on a need-to-know basis. But she would prove to Kwaad that she was worthy of trust. Of a lot of trust, in fact.

*~~

The numbers looked fine. There were about five or six dozen Yuuzhan Vong that wouldn't find room on the transports. They would easily fit into one of the New Republic transports, if they could be persuaded to accept this means of transportation.

Commander Hiirk had assured Luke that this would be no problem. He had arranged that it be only Warriors that had already had contact with infidel machinery and wouldn't feel too disgusted by it.

"What is going to happen to the worldship if the evacuation is complete?" the Jedi Master asked. He saw how Anakin's interest was peeked by this question and was glad he wouldn't have to chastise his pupil to be more attentive in front of the Commander. It could wait until the evening.

Hiirk - a tall, impressive Yuuzhan Vong - lookeed at him astonished. Then his features cleared and he smile thinly. "I keep forgetting that you're totally unfamiliar with our culture. The ship is going to be killed by our Shapers and what can still be used will be used. Not all the tissue is too old to be of service to us."

"I see." Luke nodded, allowing himself some admiration for the perfect way this society dealt with garbage. While Anakin began to ask some questions about how and when this would be done, Luke consulted another of the lists the Yuuzhan Vong had been so kind as to write in Basic letters for him.

They would need a lot of water and nourishment for their people until they had set up enough facilities or whatever they needed to be self-sufficient on the planet they were going to and the Commander had compiled a very extensive paper about it.

Luke had memorised the possibilities he had with his small task force, as well as the time needed to have more at their disposal. It would work without the Yuuzhan Vong having to suffer hunger or thirst on their new home. Sometimes it would be a little difficult, but it would be possible.

- 'Hello, Liin' -

Luke's head snapped higher. With the speed and efficiency of someone who was used to it for decades, he assessed the room. Anakin sat opposite of him, throwing him a questioning glance. Hiirk was showing Luke his back and hadn't noticed his sudden movement.

There was no one else here in the room. But how could that be? He had heard this voice. Clearly. There was no way to be mistaken about it.

- Right, here I am again. But who am I? -

'Good question.' Luke thought, lowering his head again, so as to not irritate Anakin further. But he was not seeing the numbers. He was concentrating on his Force senses, trying to find out who was contacting him.

- I'm not going to answer it for you. You have to figure it out yourself, my dear -

Luke frowned, barely aware that he did. Whoever it was, he or she could hear his thoughts. And it was no Force user. He couldn't feel anyone in the Force but Anakin and Corran, dulled through the Yuuzhan Vong ship, out there flying cover.

- I'm sorry that I have to go already. But I don't want to be here when the party begins. -

And with those very words, spoken in a voice Luke didn't know and yet perceived as startlingly familiar, the feeling of dread assaulted him ten times worse than this very morning. He felt himself go cold and the skin at the back of his neck tingling.

Instinctively, his hand shot towards his lightsaber. Anakin, his eyes wide when he saw Luke's movement, jumped to his feet and grasped his own saber. Simultaneously, the villip in front of Commander Hiirk took on the form of another Yuuzhan Vong soldier. A Yuuzhan Vong soldier that seemed startled and fairly nervous.

"What is it?" Hiirk bellowed, focussing on Luke, unlit lightsaber in hand, eyes misty and staring off into nothingness.

Anakin crept over to his uncle, nudging him slightly. 'Uncle Luke? What's the matter?' He received no answer.

The Yuuzhan Vong soldier whose image was projected by the villip began to chatter wildly in his own language. Obviously, he managed to startle his commander enough to make him gape openly. After another exchange of words, Hiirk turned to Luke.

"Jeedai Skywalker, we have a problem."

With obvious difficulty, Luke focused back on the Commander. "Of which sort?"

"I have no idea why, but obviously the ship is… dissolving."

"Dissolving? What do you mean by that?!" Anakin cried out, feeling distinctly helpless. His uncle was acting up really strange and this sounded absolutely ridiculous.

"I don't know. The Shaper doesn't know what's happening either. We have a huge breech near the brain of the ship."

This seemed to bring Luke back to reality completely. "Give the signal for evacuation, Commander."

- You can't save them, Liin. -

'Be quiet!' he hissed mentally. Anakin made a step away from him, staring at him with big eyes. Silently communicating through the Force, he assured his nephew that he didn't mean him. He didn't need the Force, though, to tell that this only irritated Anakin further.

"Already done. I'm going to take a look at this breech." Hiirk nodded grimly to Luke and hurried out of the room.

Luke sighed. He hadn't really expected to have the Commander do anything else.

"Anakin, get to the hangar bay and to Corran."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to accompany Hiirk. I… need to know what this is all about."

"Uncle Luke…" his nephew's blue eyes bore into him, beginning fear reflecting in them.

Luke smiled and pressed the boy's shoulder gently. "Don't worry too much. Get going, Ani."

Anakin smiled at the use of his nickname of old, then turned and ran along the corridor. Luke spun around a last time and snatched the lists, stuffing them into his tunic pocket, aware that these were worth days of hard work on both sides, NR and Yuuzhan Vong.

His nephew had reached the last turn of the corridor towards the hangar bay and was looking back, wondering what Luke was doing.

Luke smiled at him, touched by the care and love he felt from the boy. Causing the yorik coral to seal itself behind him, he stepped out of the corridor.

He didn't know what had warned him - the horror on his nephew's face or the faint hiss behind him. Spinning around faster than any other living being could, he brought the green blade of his lightsaber in front of his face.

With a sickening sizzle and stench, something vaporised when it met the pure energy. Luke had no time, though, to examine what it had been. Suddenly, the whole corridor seemed to be filled with deadly bullets. Obviously, they were thud bugs.

"Anakin, get out of here!" Luke yelled, dodging another one and trying to see his nephew's form through the black cloud that suddenly blocked his view. He saw Anakin hesitate, shimmering golden blade in his hand.

Luke swore under his breath. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Anakin. Only a moment later, though, the Jedi Master retreated a step and stared in a mix of amazement and horror. Anakin was going to be safe. Indeed, the boy was in no danger whatsoever for the moment.

The deadly bugs that filled the air with their buzzing had veered around in unison, focusing on their prey. And this prey seemed to be the Master, not the apprentice.

Yuuzhan Vong Ship Criarto, Coruscant System, Same Time

Mara had enjoyed herself the whole day. Although she had met the daughter of Supreme Overlord Shimrra, Miiram, with a certain suspicion, she had soon come to like the woman. She was refreshingly different from other Yuuzhan Vong.

Curious was the best word to describe her. For hours now, they had been discussing what had happened in the past few months and Miiram had asked question after question.

She seemed particularly fascinated with everything that had to do with Priestess Elan, Mezhan Kwaad and Luke. Her knowledge about the events had first infuriated Mara, but she had soon realised that the woman meant no offence.

In fact, Miiram was appalled by what Kwaad had done. Though the concept of familiars and slaves was nothing she despised, having grown up with it, she resented the fact that Elan had forced a Warrior into this position. Warriors were very renowned in the Yuuzhan Vong culture and to disgrace them in such a way was a crime. No one could hope to gain fame with it.

Miiram was sharing more information about Shapers with Mara, who listened with great interest. It was never wrong to know more about this particular caste, even if just to understand better what Luke had been going through. They were amidst a discussion about drev-membrane and the healing procedures it was normally used for when Mara felt a cold hand close around her heart.

Immediately, she reached out to Luke, to make sure he was all right. Tension and carefully measured fear greeted her. 'Luke!' she cried mentally.

'Can't talk now, Mar." he sent back, his voice full of urgency. For a moment she had the feeling she could hear the hum of his lightsaber, then a sizzle. Then he shut her out and with an evil, unfamiliar cackle sounding in her ear, she lost contact to her husband's mind.

"Mara?" Miiram's voice startled her.

Green eyes focused on the Yuuzhan Vong woman, wide with anxiousness for a moment, then narrowing in frustration and anger.

"Mara, what is the matter? Did I say something that…"

"I knew he shouldn't have gone to Sernpidal alone." She whispered, stalking out of the room with a definite destination in mind. The hangar bay.

| To Be Continued |

 

 

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