The Council building seemed to rock like an ancient sea-going vessel as coralskippers flashed by overhead, pounding it with plasma fire. T-wings screamed past in hot pursuit, the shrill screech of engines vibrating Nisia\u2019s teeth. She grimaced at the pain as the snubfighters tried to keep the Vong assault off, but even their best efforts were no longer enough.<\/p>\n
Yuuzhan Vong warriors advanced against the Council, picking their way through burning mounds of their own dead. They never stop<\/em>, Nisia observed distantly. We kill them and kill them and kill them, but they never seem to get the hint.<\/em> E-web repeating blasters started hammering away at the approaching forces again. Vong warriors began to fall, even their best vonduun crab armor unable to protect them from laserfire capable of taking down unshielded starfighters.<\/p>\n Still they advanced onward, wasting slave troops and their own lives in yet another assault on the fortified position. Nisia shook her head at the waste. If they were Zabrak, I\u2019d call it a sad loss of life. With these scarheads, though, it\u2019s just stupidity. If their own people want to throw away resources like this, they can feel free to keep doing so.<\/em><\/p>\n More Vong fell to concentrated fire. The corpses were starting to pile up again, and she grimaced. No way we can send out scouts to knock down the piles again. Not with the skips overhead, and the Vong keeping more pressure on us.<\/em> She frowned and lifted her macrobinoculars to her face, watching the advancing troops. They\u2019re not going to give up this time, are they?<\/em><\/p>\n Sure enough, the Vong continued to pour forward, even as dozens more fell to the concentrated defensive fire. The former pirate frowned, trying to understand their strategy, when she felt a tremor in the ground. What was that?<\/em><\/p>\n Through the haze that seemed to be a constant in Rak\u2019Edalin now, she caught a glimpse of movement well behind the Yuuzhan Vong assault lines. She refocused the macrobinoculars, trying to get a good look. The smoke from burning all those buildings is making it harder to get a good look at anything<\/em>, she mentally griped. Little downside to Halyn\u2019s strategy I bet he never considered.<\/em><\/p>\n A gust of wind blew away enough haze for Nisia to finally get a clear view, if only for a heartbeat, of what was moving. The ground trembled again, and she swallowed hard. Wonderful. A range.<\/em> She tried to ignore the fear gripping her heart. Unless we get a lot of fighter cover here right now, we\u2019re going to die.<\/em><\/p>\n She unclipped her comlink and brought it to her lips. \u201cCathleen<\/em>, this is Nisia at the Council chambers. We need evac immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSay again, Nisia,\u201d a distant comm officer answered her.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Council chamber is about to be overrun by Yuuzhan Vong,\u201d she said bluntly. \u201cWe need transports here in ten minutes or there\u2019s not going to be anyone left alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlease wait,\u201d the comm officer said calmly.<\/p>\n Nisia gritted her teeth. Bloody military types never understand urgency<\/em>, she thought harshly. Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit. C\u2019mon, Jess, come riding to the rescue.<\/em><\/p>\n As though her words had summoned him, Halyn spoke on the comlink a moment later. \u201cWhat\u2019s your status, Nisia?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve held out so far,\u201d she said bluntly, \u201cbut the Vong are moving in with the heavy artillery. They\u2019re bringing ranges down on us right now, and throwing away warriors to keep our guns tied up. We need evac from your Muurians right now, or you\u2019ll be picking up corpses. How soon can you get us out of the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t hold if I eliminate that range?\u201d Halyn asked.<\/p>\n Nisia hesitated, not expecting the Ul\u2019akhoi\u2019s question. She considered carefully, but the tremors were becoming heavier and more frequent. \u201cJess, I don\u2019t think anyone can knock it out in time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf Argus would\u2019ve let me bury those baradium bombs under the streets like I wanted to,\u201d the distant Zabrak grumbled. \u201cAlright. Stand by.\u201d<\/p>\n The comlink went dead, and Nisia\u2019s nervousness continued to rise. Jess, don\u2019t leave me hanging,<\/em> she yelled inside her own mind. Don\u2019t let us die out here.<\/em><\/p>\n The Ul\u2019akhoi returned to the channel a moment later. \u201cWe\u2019re dispatching the Muurians now\u2014they\u2019re just turning around from pulling out one of our strike teams. Hold fast as long as you can, and they\u2019ll pull your feet out of the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Jess,\u201d Nisia said with a wave of relief washing over her. \u201cI owe you one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, like you\u2019ll ever deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I would if you weren\u2019t the one who put me into this situation in the first place,\u201d Nisia retorted. \u201cI don\u2019t know why I ever let you drag me into this war<\/em> in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSee you soon, Nisia.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoger, Nisia out.\u201d She was secretly guilty at the relief she felt as she clipped her comlink to her belt. Halyn no doubt had intended some secret use for the Council chambers, and now she was forcing him to abandon it. Still, they had killed a good many Vong attackers, and they had forced the invaders into committing a far larger force than they\u2019d likely intended for the Council.<\/p>\n At least that damned Lusp will be off my back<\/em>, she thought wryly. I\u2019m sick of him pestering me abo\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n She had no time to finish the thought, as the world around her seemed to explode into fire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kelta stormed onto the Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s bridge, her robes soaked in blood. \u201cHalyn,\u201d she called sharply. \u201cNeed to talk to you, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ul\u2019akhoi glanced over his shoulder at her, then returned to the officer he was speaking to. \u201cThree transports should be enough,\u201d he was saying. \u201cTell them to leave the E-webs behind; there\u2019s no time to evacuate the heavy equipment. Blaster rifles and troops, and every member of the Council they can cram on board. Got it?\u201d<\/p>\n The officer nodded, and Halyn turned to Kelta. She irritably waved him over to a relatively quiet corner of the bridge, where the Zabrak general joined her.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d he asked a bit sharply. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to take advantage of the chaos your team\u2019s ambush caused, but time is critical here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t tell me it was an assassination,\u201d Kelta said bluntly. \u201cWho was that? The Vong Commander?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn rocked back on his heels. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n The Jedi Knight leaned forward, keeping him off balance. \u201cThe Vong you sent Abi after. It must have been one of the Vong higher-ups here on Iridonia. He was scarred head to foot, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou saw<\/em> him?\u201d Halyn asked in astonishment. \u201cHe actually was there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, he was there,\u201d Kelta snarled. \u201cDon\u2019t tell me you didn\u2019t know. After all, you knew you couldn\u2019t send me or Anishor after him directly\u2014neither of us would\u2019ve accepted a hit mission. We\u2019re not assassins, so you sent the best one you could find, and she paid the price.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t know the Vong commander would show. I was trying to draw him out so we could find him and take a shot at him, but this was a recon and disruption mission. I didn\u2019t intend to assassinate anyone. At least not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta\u2019s rage lessened. \u201cThen who\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe,\u201d another voice answered.<\/p>\n Kelta turned to see Kativie Lusp, the Zabrak Jedi Knight with a very un-Jedi-like glint in her eyes. \u201cI knew Halyn was trying to draw him out. I asked Abi to take the shot if she had a chance. The bastard deserves to die and die screaming<\/em>, but I\u2019ll take a quick and painful death at the hands of one of the New Republic\u2019s best operatives. It would have blunted the Vong\u2019s assault as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Zabrak unhooked Kelta\u2019s lightsaber from her own belt and offered it to her colleague. \u201cI\u2019ve retrieved my own. Thank you for letting me borrow this.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta accepted the hilt wordlessly. Kativie\u2026have you fallen to the dark side?<\/em> She reached out with the Force and felt darkness in the Zabrak Jedi\u2019s aura. Her pain and desire for revenge colored her perceptions red, and Kelta felt for a moment as though she could lose herself in the depths of Kativie\u2019s rage. It\u2019s the anger of a mother who has lost children. She wants revenge for what was taken from her.<\/em> Kelta was a Jedi Knight, but she found herself unable to condemn her old friend. Would I be in any better shape, if it had been Adreia who was assassinated?<\/em><\/p>\n She swallowed, the righteous anger she\u2019d felt with Halyn starting to fade. It wasn\u2019t him at all. He might have enabled it, but that wasn\u2019t his intent.<\/em> Another dark intention touched her perception. If he had known the Commander was going to be there, he would\u2019ve taken the shot himself. Kativie would too, actually\u2026but I bet Halyn forbade her from accompanying the strike team.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWait,\u201d Halyn said slowly, \u201cwhat do you mean, Abi paid the price?\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta swallowed. \u201cShe took a shot at the Vong and lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn\u2019s face was ashen. \u201cShe\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s alive,\u201d Kelta said. \u201cShe lost part of a lekku in the attempt. I don\u2019t know if she\u2019s going to make it, or what will be left of her if she does.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn closed his eyes.<\/p>\n Kelta could almost see his thoughts in the Force, broadcast in clear text. Twi\u2019lek lekku were more than limbs, more than decorative bits of the head like human hair or even a Zabrak\u2019s horns. The cartilaginous tentacles housed large chunks of a Twi\u2019lek\u2019s brain. Kelta wasn\u2019t absolutely certain on Twi\u2019lek anatomy, particularly brain structure, but she was fairly certain the lekku largely housed memory\u2014some of it passed on from mother to child.<\/p>\n A Twi\u2019lek with damaged lekku was said to be an outcast from her own kind.<\/p>\n Kelta shoved the idea away. Worrying or speculating won\u2019t help Abi now.<\/em> She glanced at Kativie. I don\u2019t know if she will allow me to help her now, either. She\u2019s tainted by the darkness, but she hasn\u2019t fallen. If I try to help her now, I\u2019ll only push her further and faster along that path.<\/em><\/p>\n She took a deep breath. \u201cWhat can I do?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cStay here on the bridge with Kativie,\u201d he said. \u201cJust make sure nothing else goes wrong.\u201d He turned and headed swiftly for the turbolift at the rear of the bridge.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d Kelta called after him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere do you think?\u201d he retorted as the lift slid open for him. He turned inside it to look back at the two Jedi. \u201cI don\u2019t like friends of mine dying, but if she doesn\u2019t survive, I won\u2019t let her die alone.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nisia was surprised to find herself alive. Fires burned around her, but they were starting to die out. I couldn\u2019t have been out long\u2014maybe a few minutes at worst. <\/em>She glanced down at her skin, saw the burns, and grimaced. Shock and adrenaline must be keeping me going<\/em>, she thought. This is going to hurt like blazes when I start to feel it again.<\/em><\/p>\n She slowly sat up. Rak\u2019Edalin spun around her, but she refused to give an inch of ground. When the city finally stabilized, she carefully rose to her feet. The ground shook beneath her, and she nearly collapsed again. No, no, no, I will <\/em>not fall. The Vong can\u2019t kill me.<\/em><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until she started to walk that she realized the tremors she felt weren\u2019t from her injuries. They were from the Yuuzhan Vong rakamat thundering its slow way to the Council.<\/p>\n She looked around the rooftop, saw several holes melted clear through it. That range must have let loose with the Vong version of artillery,<\/em> she observed distantly. Now it\u2019s clearing a path to the Council.<\/em><\/p>\n The E-webs chattered constantly now, raking reddish laserfire across the Vong creature, but it deployed defensive voids to intercept the damage. Behind it, she could see dozens, maybe hundreds of Yuuzhan Vong warriors clustering in closely to the beast\u2019s legs, depending on it for cover against the defending Zabraks.<\/p>\n Why aren\u2019t they just blowing us to pieces with the rakamat\u2019s weapons?<\/em> she asked herself. A moment later, the answer surfaced with crystal clarity. Because they know who\u2019s hiding here. The Vong are coming for the civilian government to try to use them as leverage to force us to surrender. But that\u2019s not going to happen.<\/em><\/p>\n The distant shriek of repulsorlifts was music to her ears. Here comes the evacuation<\/em>, she told herself cheerfully. We\u2019ll get out from under the Vong yet.<\/em><\/p>\n The rakamat turned and opened fire with its plasma cannons, sending balls of fire out at the approaching transports. That\u2019s not good,<\/em> Nisia thought dumbly. I\u2019d better get below and get the evacuation started. If we take too long, we\u2019ll get chewed apart.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Li Coden swore as the Muurian transport bucked. \u201cSithspawn, why did I let anyone talk me into flying one of these buckets?\u201d he griped as plasma splashed over his forward shields. \u201cTwo and Three, squeeze in\u2014if we don\u2019t overlap defenses, we\u2019re going to get ripped apart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSir,\u201d the second Muurian pilot responded, \u201cthese aren\u2019t exactly starfighters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve noticed,\u201d Li said sharply. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t use the same tactics. Overlap defenses and we have a much better chance of surviving this run.\u201d<\/p>\n Reluctantly, the other two Muurians slid into tight formation with him\u2014one flying directly above him, one directly below. \u201cRemember,\u201d Li joked, \u201cdon\u2019t pull back on the stick. Or push forward. Rudder pedals only.\u201d<\/p>\n The other Muurian pilots were grimly silent as they focused on maintaining the formation. Transport pilots aren\u2019t use to this kind of precision flying,<\/em> Li realized. I\u2019ll be lucky if one of them doesn\u2019t get us all killed.<\/em><\/p>\n Another plasma ball splashed over the overlapping defenses of the three transports, deflected away by the energy shields. <Well done,> Anishor commented from the copilot\u2019s chair. <I haven\u2019t seen this kind of precision flying with ships this big and slow since\u2026well, ever.><\/p>\n Li grunted as he focused wholly on the flying; a salvo of magma missiles crashed into the shields and were similarly repulsed. \u201cThat\u2019s why you talked me into this, right? You wanted to see some precision flying that even a Jedi wouldn\u2019t be stupid enough to do?\u201d<\/p>\n <I suspected your skills may be necessary to evacuate the Council,> Anishor allowed. <Besides, this transport\u2019s regular pilot was drunk.><\/p>\n \u201cDrunk?\u201d Li asked in disbelief. \u201cHow did you\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n The Wookiee chuckled. <Acute sense of smell. Not all of you furless deal well with the stresses of war.><\/p>\n \u201cAll of your people do?\u201d Li asked, sweating as more plasma thundered against his forward shields. \u201cThree, you\u2019re lagging\u2014move back up, or we\u2019ll lose our defense advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n The transport promptly throttled up, tightening up just in time for another salvo of fire to wash across the forward shields. The Vong really don\u2019t want us getting in.<\/em><\/p>\n <Not all of our kind do, no,> Anishor admitted. <Some become madclaws, others exhibit cowardice.><\/p>\n \u201cGot any tips on landing?\u201d Li asked, leading the three transports into a shallow banking loop over the Council. Below, the rakamat was against the Council chambers now, and the Vong warriors were pouring out from behind it to rush into the building which had been breached by one of the creature\u2019s massive claws.\u201d<\/p>\n <Straight down,> Anishor advised.<\/p>\n Li smiled at that thought. \u201cSounds crazy enough to work.\u201d He flicked his comm back on. \u201cTwo and Three, break left and right, and then go straight down,\u201d he ordered as he leveled off and pulled the throttle back, cutting in repulsorlifts.<\/p>\n The two transports obediently swung into position. \u201cSir,\u201d the third pilot spoke up, \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure the Council\u2019s roof won\u2019t hold one Muurian, let alone three.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m counting on it,\u201d Li replied with a smirk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nisia was starting to feel the distant touch of pain from her burns when the Vong started pouring in. Zabrak soldiers were abandoning their E-webs to rush forward, zhabokas rising to meet a tide of amphistaffs.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll get cut to pieces in there,<\/em> Nisia observed. Instead of joining the rush, she moved past the warriors, heading towards one of the now-abandoned E-webs.<\/p>\n Achick Lusp was at her side before she was halfway to the heavy weapon emplacement. \u201cCaptain, surely you have ordered an evacuation,\u201d he said grimly. \u201cWe can no longer hold this position.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that your expert political opinion?\u201d Nisia snarled over her shoulder, never breaking stride. \u201cOr is that merely the amateur warrior?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not opinion, it\u2019s fact,\u201d Achick said bluntly.<\/p>\n \u201cGood thing I\u2019ve got three Muurians coming to bail your ass out of this fire,\u201d Nisia replied.<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d Achick seemed momentarily taken aback, though he continued to follow hot on her heels. \u201cThe Ul\u2019akhoi agreed to the evacuation, then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe military situation was not lost on him,\u201d the pirate said dryly. \u201cNow, if you\u2019ll be so kind as to get out of the\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Her chiding was interrupted by a roar. The building shook again, harder than it had while the rakamat was pounding away at it. What the\u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n The roof gave way, collapsing in great chunks as a Muurian transport crashed through. It caught itself on repulsorlifts, settling smoothly to the now debris-cluttered Council floor. Two more transports, repulsorlifts similarly screaming, followed suit, landing ramps dropping even before they could set down on their landing struts.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something you don\u2019t see every day!\u201d Nisia shouted to no one in particular over the roaring engines.<\/p>\n She rushed to the E-web emplacement, ignoring everything else around her. The clashes of combat, the war cries of the Yuuzhan Vong, the shouts of Iridonian warriors were all drowned out by the deep bass howl of the transports\u2019 engines. Need to buy time for our people to get out<\/em>, Nisia thought as she reached the E-web.<\/p>\n The weapon was still powered up and ready to go, its barrel protruding through a hole cut in the wall for just that purpose. She heaved against the weapon, trying to pull it back inside. It seemed an impossible task; nothing happened as she threw her weight and muscle into her efforts.<\/p>\n Abruptly, it started to move, nearly sending her sprawling. She looked up and was shocked to see the Council member, Achick Lusp, straining against the weapon with her. With their combined efforts, the heavy E-web slowly retracted into the building.<\/p>\n The moment the barrel cleared the inner wall, Nisia quit pushing against the E-web and straightened. A moment later, she swung the barrel around towards the skirmish between the Yuuzhan Vong and the Iridonian defenders.<\/p>\n The Zabraks were beginning to break toward the transports. Councilors were already boarding the Muurians, rushing aboard for sanctuary.<\/p>\n Nisia grabbed ahold of the weapon\u2019s controls and jammed both thumbs into the firing studs. The E-web thundered, sending fiery death into the crowded Vong. Two Iridonian warriors went down to friendly fire, but the pirate allowed herself no moments of remorse as she raked blaster bolts across the crowd. Don\u2019t need much time, just to buy enough for the politicians to escape the grasp of the Vong.<\/em><\/p>\n The thought embittered her more than a bit\u2014the knowledge that dozens, maybe hundreds of Iridonians were dying to save the lives of a bunch of good-for-nothing politicians, people who had done nothing for the war effort except trip up those who were fighting it.<\/p>\n She was so intent on firing she never saw the Yuuzhan Vong attack from behind.<\/p>\n The strike was mercifully swift; the pirate never felt the blow, had no pain as the amphistaff swept through her neck, separating her head from her spine and sending her sprawling bonelessly to the Council floor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Council building seemed to rock like an ancient sea-going vessel as coralskippers flashed by overhead, pounding it with plasma fire. T-wings screamed past in hot pursuit, the shrill screech of engines vibrating Nisia\u2019s teeth. She grimaced at the pain … Continue reading