The next person to enter was not whom Halyn expected. The Zabrak was nineteen years old, not particularly handsome but not unattractive, though his dark jato and brilliant green eyes were striking. His expression was unhappy, and he wore a blaster pistol at his hip with a zhaboka slung over his shoulder.<\/p>\n
Halyn rose to his feet as the young Zabrak saluted. Instead of returning the salute, he nodded at him. \u201cWhat can I do for you, Edlin?\u201d<\/p>\n
Argus and Allanna\u2019s oldest surviving child was slow to respond. \u201cUncle, I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m doing anything useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Halyn frowned at him. \u201cHow so?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a member of the Zabrak Defense Force, not just conscripted into fighting.\u201d His expression was uneasy, but that was masked by a layer of certainty. \u201cInstead of being out on the front lines fighting the Vong, I was assigned guard duty here at the Cathleen<\/em>. Any Zabrak who earned his jato could be doing that, and there\u2019s people out there dying in my place.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ul\u2019akhoi leaned back in his desk chair. \u201cI don\u2019t generally interfere with specific unit deployments,\u201d he said at last. Wonderful. Just like his father. Needs to be a hero, out fighting on the front lines. Didn\u2019t learn a thing from Argus\u2019s death.<\/em><\/p>\n Edlin raised an eyebrow. \u201cReally, Uncle Hal? You\u2019re going to tell me that you had nothing<\/em> to do with me being stationed here instead of on the front line?\u201d<\/p>\n And just like his father, the kid isn\u2019t stupid.<\/em> \u201cYou can believe whatever you like,\u201d Halyn said. \u201cBecause regardless of what I tell you, you\u2019ve already made up your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n The certainty slipped for a moment. \u201cBut\u2026\u201d he shook his head, stopping himself. \u201cCan\u2019t you do something to get me out and fighting, rather than sitting around here watching everyone too young or sick to fight?\u201d<\/p>\n Got him.<\/em> Halyn suppressed a smile as the younger Zabrak fell neatly into the trap. \u201cThe fact that you realized I did<\/em> have something to do with your station assignment is good, because I have a special job for you in mind. It\u2019s not combat, but it\u2019s critically important.\u201d<\/p>\n Edlin raised both eyebrows at that. \u201cReally, Uncle?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn nodded. \u201cReally. You remember Sandarie, right?\u201d<\/p>\n The young Zabrak snorted. \u201cOf course I remember Aunt Sandi. She\u2019s only Mom\u2019s best friend since, well, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n A smile crept onto Halyn\u2019s face. \u201cYou do<\/em> know she\u2019s not really family, right? Zabraks and Twi\u2019leks can\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Edlin raised both hands. \u201cSpare me the details, Uncle. I know that Aunt Sandi isn\u2019t family by blood.\u201d He quirked a smile. \u201cDad explained those details to me a long<\/em> time ago, so I really don\u2019t need you<\/em> to explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnyways, I have Sandi working on an extremely important assignment,\u201d Halyn continued. \u201cI can\u2019t stress enough how important her success is. Get my drift?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was in here not fifteen minutes ago,\u201d Halyn continued. \u201cShe\u2019s afraid she\u2019s not going to complete her mission\u2014it\u2019s been pushing her to her absolute limits. She asked me to find her backup if possible. Now, pretty much everyone I trust is already performing some critical duty or another for me, but as you said, your guard duty can be taken over by anyone who can hold a zhaboka and sound the alarm. You up for the challenge?\u201d<\/p>\n Edlin leaned forward in excitement. \u201cWhat\u2019s the mission?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cI gave Sandarie the full briefing, but I\u2019m sure the specifics are probably out of date by now. You\u2019ll have to talk to her for all the details.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Uncle!\u201d he said as he rose to his feet.<\/p>\n Halyn smiled. \u201cThank me by doing a good job. Dismissed,\u201d he added with a wink.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Anishor barely managed to sidestep a fast-moving Zabrak boy when the door hissed open unexpectedly. The young warrior was gone in a flash. Anishor turned and looked after him. Who was that? Something about his scent is familiar.<\/em><\/p>\n The big Wookiee turned back to the doorway and had to duck his head to enter Halyn\u2019s cabin. <Hello, coatrack.><\/p>\n \u201cFurball,\u201d Halyn greeted him. \u201cDidn\u2019t expect you to be unhappy. And didn\u2019t I tell everyone to leave their weapons at the door?\u201d<\/p>\n Anishor glanced over his shoulder at the hilt of one of his rykk blades. <You only mentioned blasters, not rykk blades or zhabokas.><\/p>\n Halyn snorted in disgust. \u201cI\u2019ll have to keep that in mind for next time. What can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n <Abi and Li\u2026> Anishor hesitated. How to say this without offending? How to tell him without giving him the wrong impression? He trusts my council above most.<\/em> <I fear they are not with us.><\/p>\n \u201cYou think they really are working for the Peace Brigade?\u201d Halyn asked incredulously.<\/p>\n Anishor shook his head. <I would smell such treachery on them. But not always is the enemy of our enemy our friend.><\/p>\n Halyn snorted. \u201cWhat, they\u2019re going to help the Lusps overthrow me and install someone else as Ul\u2019akhoi?\u201d<\/p>\n <No. > The big Wookiee shook his head. <I think they are loose cannons. I\u2019m not sure they will follow orders when the battle clashes. They are too independent-minded, untrusting of your orders and your plans.><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re hardly alone in that.\u201d<\/p>\n <I understand I am not privy to all your plans,> Anishor rumbled contemplatively. <Of those plans I know of, I have concerns about their effectiveness and the potential for failure. I worry that there are oversights, gaps in your war strategy. But,> he continued, his voice rising, <when the Vong attack, I will follow your orders. I placed myself and my berserkers at your command and trust you to use us as you see fit, in conjunction with your plans, and to use us well.><\/p>\n \u201cBut Li and Abi have no such trust.\u201d<\/p>\n <No. I believe they are loyal to you, to your cause, to the New Republic\u2026but loyal as they see fit.><\/p>\n Halyn leaned back in his chair, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. \u201cYou think I made a mistake, then, putting them in command of elite teams.\u201d<\/p>\n <That depends on your strategy, and the importance of these units. If you intend to use them as precision instruments, as your lightsaber in striking the Vong where they are weak, then yes, you made a mistake. If you expect them to operate independently, striking as they<\/em> see fit, then I can think of none better to lead them.><\/p>\n \u201cThe truth was somewhere in between,\u201d Halyn said dryly. \u201cBut as unit commanders, I have them somewhat under my thumb. If I let them run free, I have no way to rein them in.\u201d<\/p>\n <What about the traitor?> Anishor asked.<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cThat situation is well under control.\u201d<\/p>\n <Why haven\u2019t you brought the traitor to light, then?> Anishor dared.<\/p>\n Halyn raised his chin. \u201cDo you doubt me, furball?\u201d<\/p>\n <Coatrack, this isn\u2019t a game, and I\u2019m not some underling who needs to see you as infallible. I\u2019ve seen you fall plenty of times. We need to root the traitor out.><\/p>\n \u201cLeave it alone,\u201d Halyn said curtly. \u201cI already told you, I have it under control. Besides, if one of my closest friends could betray me to the Vong, any one of you<\/em> could. So believe me when I say I have it under control. I wouldn\u2019t risk all of Iridonia over my pride.\u201d<\/p>\n Anishor chided himself. You pushed too far, too fast. He\u2019s relying on whatever agent he has in play to keep the traitor in check. Unless, of course, he doesn\u2019t know who the traitor is and he\u2019s buying his agent time to figure out who\u2019s hanging us all out to dry.<\/em> Aloud, he growled, <I wonder where the Defense Fleet is now.><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re in theoretically friendly space,\u201d Halyn said dryly. \u201cI spoke with Admiral Saret\u2014with Allanna\u2014only a few minutes ago by the HoloNet.\u201d<\/p>\n Or is Halyn unconcerned because the traitor is with the fleet, not here? Is that why he sent the fleet away instead of keeping them here to skirmish with the Vong?<\/em> \u00a0<Have they joined up with New Republic forces yet?><\/p>\n \u201cNot yet,\u201d Halyn said grimly. \u201cApparently the three fleets at Coruscant scattered to the corners of the galaxy to pull the covers over their heads. Well, two of the fleets\u2014Antilles\u2019s group is entrenched in fighting at Borleias.\u201d<\/p>\n <Holding the gate open to Coruscant.><\/p>\n Halyn nodded. \u201cEither to allow the refugees to escape, or to keep the way open for the inevitable counterattack. The New Republic can\u2019t let the Vong keep Coruscant.\u201d<\/p>\n <If the New Republic is preparing for a counterattack, that leaves little for Iridonia\u2019s aid.><\/p>\n \u201cI never expected aid from the New Republic,\u201d Halyn said mildly.<\/p>\n <No?><\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d Halyn left the rest of the conversation unsaid.<\/p>\n It was a debate the two of them had first had two decades previously, when Halyn had crafted plans to crack the Imperial blockade over Iridonia. Halyn had been convinced, and acted on his conviction, that the Rebel Alliance as heir to the Old Republic would never dispatch a fleet to free the world. Historically, Halyn would point out, Iridonia had sided with the Sith when the reoccurring wars between the Sith Empire and the Old Republic would flare up. An Alliance headed by Republic Senators would never lend aid to their ancient enemies.<\/p>\n Anishor had pointed out, each time they had the debate, that the Rebel Alliance had<\/em> aided other groups that had traditionally been the Republic\u2019s foes. The Alliance leadership had established an uneasy working relationship with various Hutt crime syndicates and smuggler bands, had drafted pirates into privateer fleets, and had accepted members of the old Confederacy of Independent Systems into their ranks. Now, aiding Iridonia, which had willingly joined the New Republic and committed thousands of its troops to the New Republic Defense Force, would hardly be unexpected.<\/p>\n <What\u2019s your endgame, coatrack?> Anishor asked after the silence stretched uncomfortably.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wipe out the Vong here on Iridonia.\u201d<\/p>\n <How?><\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cNot yet, furball.\u201d<\/p>\n <You do have a plan, though?><\/p>\n \u201cOf course I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Anishor hated that phrase. Of course<\/em>, in his experience, usually meant not at all<\/em>. But he nodded in acceptance. <You don\u2019t have to do this alone, you know.><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wookiee opened his mouth to reply, but heard the finality in his old friend\u2019s tone. This conversation is over.<\/em> Wordlessly, he nodded at the Iridonian Ul\u2019akhoi, turned, and departed the office.<\/p>\n Outside, he glanced around. Where are Li and Abi? I thought for sure they\u2019d want to talk to Hal.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Li Coden hunkered low in the shadow, doing his best not to be seen. It wasn\u2019t as hard as he thought it would be\u2014the severe damage to the Cathleen<\/em> meant that long corridors had intermittent lighting at best, with the thin-stretched engineers spending their invaluable time concentrating on critical repairs to keep the old warship going as Halyn\u2019s headquarters, or maintaining the few vessels using it as a base of operations.<\/p>\n The Zabrak woman ahead had not shown any indications she was aware of two New Republic Intelligence agents trailing her as she headed down the corridors, some clear destination in mind. I\u2019ve never been able to navigate the halls of these Mon Cal ships<\/em>, Li reflected wryly, even before they\u2019ve been \u00a0smashed into the ground and twisted all about.<\/em><\/p>\n He glanced over his shoulder. Abi Ocopaqui was similarly crouched in shadows six meters behind him, her scatter pistol in hand. Li grimaced. Abi, sometimes I think you <\/em>want things to get bloody. We don\u2019t know she\u2019s the traitor.<\/em><\/p>\n Of course, we don\u2019t know she\u2019s not.<\/em> The Zabrak woman had left Halyn\u2019s office in a hurry, paying no attention to the two New Republic officers. Her entrance and exit had been too swift for either Li or Abi to confirm or discount her as the traitor, so they\u2019d chosen to make a closer identification.<\/p>\n Before they could catch up to her, however, she had descended into the depths of the wrecked Star Cruiser. Given the lack of useful resources in the shattered hull, Li had decided to trail her rather than confront her. If she\u2019s not the traitor, she\u2019s doing a damned good job of looking suspicious.<\/em><\/p>\n The Zabrak turned a corner. Li stayed hunkered down, counting seconds to himself. When he had reached twenty, he rose from his crouch and sprinted down to the intersection. Abi waited until he had reached the corner before rising herself to mirror his movements.<\/p>\n Standard procedure. Follow immediately, and there\u2019s a very good chance of being spotted. Wait long enough for her to move on, and our chances of remaining undetected are far greater.<\/em><\/p>\n Li peeked down the new corridor in time to see the Zabrak enter a small chamber\u2014likely crew quarters\u2014as the door hissed shut. Instead of rushing to follow, he again counted silently to twenty before he left the relative security of the intersection. Abi followed immediately on his heels this time, rather than waiting for him to arrive at the door.<\/p>\n A glance at the legend on the door confirmed his earlier guess\u2014the room was indeed crew quarters, likely abandoned shortly after the Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s abrupt stop in Rak\u2019Edalin.<\/p>\n Abi moved up to the other side of the door, raising a questioning eyebrow at him. What\u2019s our move?<\/em><\/p>\n Li considered for a moment. If she\u2019s the traitor, she\u2019ll likely have a villip or some other Yuuzhan Vong creatures stashed in there. We could shoot our way in there, but there could very likely be something very nasty behind that door. If she\u2019s not, we could wind up in a firefight with a friendly. Not a very good solution, either.<\/em><\/p>\n He forced himself to think it through. We need to identify her first, whether she\u2019s the traitor or not. If she\u2019s not, we leave her alone; if she is, we take her down. So, identification first.<\/em> He looked at Abi again. But we want to do it silently, so she never knows we\u2019re here.<\/em><\/p>\n The agent fished in his pocket and pulled out a slip of flimsiplast. He showed it to Abi, then mimed sliding it under the door. The blue-skinned Twi\u2019lek nodded in understanding, pulling out a small square and sliding it under the door. She retreated thirty meters into the darkened corridor; Li followed suit.<\/p>\n Abi huddled into another doorway as she thumbed her datapad to life. It took a few moments for a hologram to glimmer to life, and even then it was difficult to see. The perspective was distorted, the images captured by the tiny holocam Abi had slid under the door. Both agents waited patiently as the datapad processed the feed, compiling an ever-more-detailed hologram of the room and their target.<\/p>\n The image of the Zabrak cleared. Li and Abi both studied the image. Her tattoos\u2014or jato<\/em>\u2014was carved in fine lines, almost delicate-looking. Her hair was pulled into a topknot, her horns rising in a crown around her head. She was beautiful, in spite of her age\u2014Li guessed her to be at least a decade older than himself, and she\u2019d lived a much harder life\u2014but he slowly shook his head. Abi glanced at him and shook her head as well.<\/p>\n Not the traitor we escorted to the Vong commander. Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean there can\u2019t be more than one traitor.<\/em><\/p>\n He soaked in the other details of the holo: a single lit candle, a pilot\u2019s helm sitting on top of a neatly-folded pilot\u2019s jumpsuit on the floor, a sparse bunk with wrinkled sheets, an empty caf mug. Just as important were the details he didn\u2019t<\/em> see: yorik coral, blorash jelly, villips. If she\u2019s the traitor, she\u2019s playing it close to the chest.<\/em><\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t look like that, though. It looks more like\u2026a shrine. To a pilot who\u2019s already died defending Iridonia, maybe? Maybe the ex-Imperial who went down behind the Vong\u2019s lines?<\/em><\/p>\n Abi shut the datapad down, and the two of them retreated through the dimly-lit hallways. Li knew he\u2019d be hopelessly lost down here without his partner, but Twi\u2019leks had a natural-born sense of direction due to the generations spent in snaking tunnels and warrens under the surface of Ryloth.<\/p>\n She\u2019s not the traitor. At least that\u2019s one suspect off the list. Time to talk to Anishor, then track down the other likely.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Halyn\u2019s door hissed open without warning. The Zabrak looked up from his datapad. \u201cDon\u2019t feel like knocking?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot really, no,\u201d Kelta said with a small smile on her face. \u201cIf I knock, there\u2019s a chance you can turn me away.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ul\u2019akhoi snorted. \u201cHardly.\u201d He tossed the datapad down on the desk. \u201cWhat can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta hesitated; the uncharacteristic lack of action immediately put Halyn on guard. Why would she come in here if she wasn\u2019t ready to talk about whatever\u2019s on her mind?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHalyn\u2026\u201d her voice trailed for a moment, but it was under control. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Barely under control.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHalyn, what\u2019s your objective?\u201d Kelta asked quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made that clear from the beginning of this,\u201d Halyn pointed out. \u201cMy objective is to keep the Vong tied up here as long as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re under siege,\u201d Kelta said dryly. \u201cWho has whom tied up?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI disagree,\u201d Halyn said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not under siege,\u201d the Zabrak said.<\/p>\n The Jedi shook her head. \u201cHal, have you lost your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPossibly.\u201d Halyn stretched in his chair. \u201cConsider our situation carefully. Lay it out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Vong have taken up orbital position,\u201d Kelta said flatly. \u201cThey\u2019re blockading Iridonia, cutting us off from any outside aid or assistance. They\u2019ve landed troops here at Rak\u2019Edalin. They have engaged the Zabrak defenses and are slowly pushing their way into the city. We can\u2019t pull back, we can\u2019t escape, and the momentum of the battle is currently in the Vong\u2019s favor.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn nodded. \u201cNow, consider the situation like a Jedi, not like a soldier or politician. My objectives are to keep the Vong tied up and, yes, save Iridonia from being conquered.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta frowned. \u201cWhat do you mean, consider the situation like a Jedi?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDetach your emotions and your preconceived notions of warfare.\u201d Halyn couldn\u2019t restrain his smile as he watched Kelta puzzle it out. Slowly, recognition dawned in her eyes. \u201cYou know, after twenty years, you\u2019re still using the same tricks. How long will you keep using the same old plans and strategies that you devised during the Civil War?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll keep using the same tricks until my enemies quit falling for them.\u201d Halyn smirked.<\/p>\n Kelta shook her head in wonderment. \u201cYou know, you remind me of the time my daughter was six years old and tried to wrestle with Kativie. She was completely pinned down, she could barely move, and she kept telling Kat, \u2018I have you right where I want you!\u2019 It was absolutely ridiculous, and you\u2019re doing the exact same thing now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe difference being,\u201d Halyn said dryly, \u201cI really do have the Vong where I want them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re still absolutely crazy.\u201d Kelta couldn\u2019t seem to stop shaking her head at Halyn\u2019s gall. \u201cSo, let me make sure I have this all straight. You knew the Vong would strike at some point, so you prepared a fleet, a massive wing of starfighters, and a small contingent of ground forces. You also knew the Vong won\u2019t be held at bay by your fleet or your starfighters, so you put up enough of a fight to draw them in, allow them to land, and then cut their supply lines with the starfighters.\u201d She frowned. \u201cThen you press all capable Zabraks into service, into defending Iridonia.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn nodded. \u201cIf we would have had a large standing army, the Vong would\u2019ve been prepared for it. We also wouldn\u2019t have been as capable of street-to-street fighting as we are with the natives of the city, the Zabraks who know it inside and out, who are fighting with everything they have to save their city and world.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta raised her eyebrows. \u201cThat\u2019s cold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s war.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo now, the Vong are fully engaged, taking heavy losses but slowly making ground. Rak\u2019Edalin is slowly being ground down while the Vong send troops over their own dead to continue to fight.\u201d Kelta frowned. \u201cSo if the battle turns against the Vong, what\u2019s to keep them from retreating?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTheir own sense of honor.\u201d Halyn\u2019s smile was grim. \u201cThey\u2019ve shown over and over that they\u2019ll fight to the end and never retreat. They\u2019d never leave Iridonia once their toes were in our sand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo now, you exterminate them?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn\u2019s smile faded. \u201cIf I could.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta nodded. \u201cAnd this is where the uncertain part of the plan comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d Halyn closed his eyes. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect the Vong to come in such force, for one. I had also anticipated this siege happening before the fall of Coruscant, when there would be an eager New Republic fleet looking for a pinned enemy to pounce on\u2014we\u2019d be an anvil to the fleet\u2019s hammer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo battle plan survives contact with the enemy,\u201d Kelta said off-handedly.<\/p>\n Halyn tried not to wince, but failed.<\/p>\n The two fell into silence as they pondered the situation. The Vong were caught in a vice of their own making, but Iridonia was stretched thin, unable to take advantage of their enemy\u2019s exposure.<\/p>\n \u201cHalyn,\u201d Kelta said softly. \u201cThe war isn\u2019t what I came to talk to you about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d The Jedi was clearly groping for words as Halyn waited.<\/p>\n After all these years, I should be obligated to make her sweat. Especially after everything that\u2019s happened between Endor and now.<\/em><\/p>\n But he couldn\u2019t. Not now. \u201cKelta, you wanted to talk about us<\/em>, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled wryly. \u201cSame old Halyn. You talk just like you plan\u2014you figured out what worked for you twenty years ago and never changed.\u201d<\/p>\n He ignored the jibe. \u201cYes, or no?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cSo talk.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta shook her head in wonderment. \u201cHalyn, it\u2019s amazing we ever got together. Your ability to talk to women is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cKelta, I\u2019m fighting a war here. I don\u2019t have time to dance around. There\u2019s every chance one or both of us will be dead before this is over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially since you don\u2019t want to sit back and let others fight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave I ever?\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta hesitated, and Halyn could almost see<\/em> the memories in her eyes. And perhaps he could; perhaps it was some awareness he had due to her Jedi abilities, her natural affinity for bonds and emotions. Or maybe it was his own memories: flying into the line of fire at Tatooine, getting shot out of an A-wing at Lok, his captivity in an Imperial garrison on Talus, a hundred skirmishes across the Outer Rim, being sucked out of a breached gunship here, at Iridonia, and the deadly engagement at Endor that had killed over half of the pilots under his command.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, you never let others do your fighting for you,\u201d Kelta admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cSo why would that change now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo what about us?\u201d Kelta looked at him. \u201cDo you still remember us? What we were to each other?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn nodded slightly. \u201cOf course I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta produced a worn and well-folded flimsiplast sheet, holding it up. \u201cDo you remember this?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn closed his eyes. Of course she would\u2019ve kept that letter all these years.<\/em> \u201cYes, I remember it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until after my husband died fighting Thrawn, that I was raising Adreia, that I realized something: I still loved you. Halyn, I\u2019ve always<\/em> loved you.\u201d She was shaking now, but the words kept bubbling out no matter what she did. \u201cIt nearly destroyed me when you left. I found strength\u2014I had a life after you were gone. I fell in love, married, had a daughter. But I never fell out<\/em> of love with you.\u201d Her words flowed faster and more frantic, but there was an underlying strength of durasteel. \u201cNow that I found you, Halyn, I don\u2019t want to let you go again. I won\u2019t let you destroy yourself.\u201d Her violet eyes, so striking and unique, stared deep into his emerald ones. \u201cHalyn, I love you as much now as when you walked out of my life twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn felt a familiar stirring, but ignored it. Now is not the time.<\/em> \u201cKelta, I\u2026\u201d He hesitated as her words caught up to him. \u201cAdreia is your daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n The question apparently caught Kelta off-guard as well. \u201cHow do you\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdreia was on the Cathleen<\/em> during the battle of Coruscant,\u201d Halyn said flatly. \u201cI thought there was something familiar about her…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is she?\u201d Kelta asked in shock.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Halyn shook his head. \u201cWhen we were preparing to withdraw, she left the bridge to return to her ship. I don\u2019t know what happened to her in the aftermath.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdreia,\u201d she whispered. \u201cDammit, Halyn, this isn\u2019t fair. How dare you try to throw me off like this?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cThis wasn\u2019t an attempt to throw you off,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cPromise me something, then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cPromise me that, if we survive this, you won\u2019t run off. Promise me we\u2019ll figure this out.\u201d She looked at him with too-knowing violet eyes. \u201cI can sense\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d he cut her off.<\/p>\n \u201cThen promise me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The next person to enter was not whom Halyn expected. The Zabrak was nineteen years old, not particularly handsome but not unattractive, though his dark jato and brilliant green eyes were striking. His expression was unhappy, and he wore a … Continue reading