Lenn Kaman never felt more alive than those precious hours he was strapped in the cockpit of a starfighter.<\/p>\n
His career had begun long ago, and most would call him too old for starfighter combat. He had trained in the Imperial Navy and flown TIE fighters during the Galactic Civil War. Exhausted by years of fighting the Rebellion, he had retired shortly after the disastrous defeat at Endor with dozens of kills to his name and a certification for the TIE Avenger\u2014an advanced TIE model that had suffered from its status as the in-between model of the widely-deployed TIE Interceptor and the legendary TIE Defender.<\/p>\n
A little over a year after his retirement, he had been recruited by a Zabrak who he would have once considered his enemy\u2014an ex-Rebel general named Halyn Lance, himself a starfighter pilot and a master tactician. After spending some time training in the slower, but heavier-armed and defended starfighters the Alliance preferred, he had participated in dozens of operations staged by Halyn.<\/p>\n
He shook his head at the remembrance.\u00a0Only Halyn Lance would recruit retired Imperial officers for attacks on the Empire. And only Halyn Lance would pull it off.<\/em><\/p>\n Lenn was now strapped in the cockpit of a TIE-series craft, an offshoot model that had never achieved widespread use.\u00a0How Halyn managed to get ahold of these TIE Hunters, I\u2019ll never know.<\/em>\u00a0The fighter was better than most Seinar designs in atmosphere: the vessel was streamlined, with Seinar\u2019s own adaptation of the s-foil system made famous by the X-wing. The folding radiator panels were even now locked open, causing more drag but maximizing agility. A glance at his system boards showed the fighter\u2019s twin laser cannons were ready to fire.<\/p>\n \u201cHunter Leader, we have another wave dropping,\u201d Kryi Rinnet\u2019s voice echoed in his ear. \u201cSending you vectors now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoger,\u201d Lenn confirmed as data streamed over his screens. \u201cVectors confirmed, we are moving to intercept.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAffirmative. Red and Blue groups will be providing air support for the ground forces.\u201d<\/p>\n Lenn pulled back on the TIE\u2019s yoke. The vessel responded with the agility familiar to all pilots who\u2019d trained on a TIE. A moment later he fed more power to the engines, and all he could see was blue sky.<\/p>\n Around and behind him, the few other TIE Hunters deployed by the Iridonian military followed his maneuver. Not far behind them, the more heavily-armed B-wings and X-wings spread out.\u00a0We\u2019re the spearhead<\/em>, Lenn thought to himself.\u00a0We break up the defenses so the heavy-hitters can take down the real danger.<\/em><\/p>\n Above him, he could see the faint contrails of descending Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers. He gritted his teeth. \u201cHunter group, break and engage,\u201d he called. \u201cTIEs and pointers on the skips, crosses on the transports. Let\u2019s not let anything through, people.\u201d<\/p>\n His actions suited his words as he opened fire at maximum range. He knew it was unlikely he\u2019d do any real damage at this range, but forcing the skips to deploy voids defensively could tire them out more quickly.<\/p>\n Plasma burned down through the atmosphere towards him. In response, he sent the TIE into a spiral. The sky was filled with fire, but he refused to relent. His TIE screamed upward toward his foes and, a moment later, he was past.<\/p>\n Other fighters in his unit were not as lucky. One of the TIE Hunters was targeted by several of the coralskippers, and dissolved into a fireball. Another was struck by a precise shot through the viewport and sent tumbling uncontrolled towards the ground. The remainder continued evasive actions as the slower X-wings, now reaching their own maximum firing range, began filling the air with reddish laser fire. Coralskippers that turned to engage the TIE Hunters were now caught off-guard by the X-wings\u2019 attack. Proton torpedoes began to detonate across the invasion zone, as much a danger to the faster Zabrak starfighters as they were to the Yuuzhan Vong.<\/p>\n \u201cHunter Lead, be advised,\u201d Kryi\u2019s voice crackled again, \u201cwe are reading a larger contact with the transports.\u201d<\/p>\n Lenn had thought the skies had been filled with plasma before, but the coralskippers\u2019 attack was like a light rain compared to the thunderstorm of fire now. \u201cAll units, evade!\u201d he shouted as plasma poured down. He jammed the throttle forward and nosed the craft over, using gravity to increase his acceleration. \u201cGet clear!\u201d<\/p>\n A glance at his rear scopes showed the threat: a Yuuzhan Vong light cruiser analog, a matalok, was now screening the wave of troop transports. He gritted his teeth as below he saw the rising B-wings catch the brunt of the attack, shattering their formation and sending pilots into uncontrolled descents.\u00a0Not to their deaths\u2014they\u2019re likely already dead.<\/em><\/p>\n The X-wings had scattered in time and, even now, were regrouping in trios. Coralskippers continued to harry them, but to Lenn\u2019s surprise, there were far less than he\u2019d been fighting moments earlier.\u00a0That cruiser\u2026they destroyed their own fighters to get a shot at our bombers. Of course, with the X-wings scattered and the B-wings destroyed, we don\u2019t have the firepower to stop the transports before they hit the ground.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cRinnet, we need more firepower up here,\u201d he said tersely.<\/p>\n \u201cStatus, Hunter Lead?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Vong are dropping transports down the well,\u201d he said bluntly. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the firepower to stop them. Three quarters of our bombers are gone, and our fighters are scattered. If you don\u2019t get me more firepower right now, we\u2019re going to have a whole bunch more Vong on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Rinnet was silent for long moments. Lenn used the time to gather his TIE Hunters together and begin harassing the transports now in the matalok\u2019s wake. A few coralskippers tried to intercept them and were promptly blown to coral dust.<\/p>\n It\u2019s too late now<\/em>, Lenn thought grimly as he watched his altimeter tick down.\u00a0Even if we had a wing of B-wings come in, we\u2019d never stop them all in time.<\/em><\/p>\n Ahead, the matalok shuddered in its descent, and then began to fall faster. Lenn frowned, and then raised his eyebrows in surprise as the craft slowly rolled over. Proton torpedoes had ripped open its belly. As its fall quickened, he realized they\u2019d likely killed the dovin basals as well.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d he hissed. \u201cHunters, stay on them. We can do this!\u201d Friendly fighters joined them in the sky now, needling the descending transports with laserfire or ripping them open with missiles. Transports began to fall uncontrolled, streaming fluids into atmosphere that no pilot wanted to contemplate.<\/p>\n Then the already-dead matalok hit Rak\u2019Edalin\u2019s shields.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Halyn found the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s command center in chaos.<\/p>\n Kryi Rinnet was the first to see his entrance and ripped her headset off. \u201cGeneral,\u201d she said breathlessly, \u201ca Vong cruiser hit the city\u2019s shields. The entire shield grid is offline.\u201d<\/p>\n The general blinked in disbelief. \u201cWhat?\u201d he asked, dumbfounded.<\/p>\n \u201cVong transports are landing troops inside Rak\u2019Edalin,\u201d she continued. \u201cCrews are already out trying to get the shields back up, but the early reports are that all the relays fried from the overload. It could take hours before the shields are back up.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cGet every squadron within a thousand klicks in the air and covering us,\u201d he ordered. \u201cAs much air support as you can muster\u2014I don\u2019t want anything else getting through.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlready done,\u201d Kryi said. \u201cSome transports are still managing to penetrate\u2014they\u2019re throwing a lot of skips at us.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn growled and looked around. \u201cWhat\u2019s the status of the battle at the edge of the city?\u201d<\/p>\n Anishor answered from a station he\u2019d taken over. <The Yuuzhan Vong continue to engage the ground defenses,> he rumbled. <They are being held at bay, but their attack does not seem very intensive, either. They are likely moving the newly-landed warriors\u2026><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026into flanking positions,\u201d Halyn finished. \u201cRight. Issue the order to fall back from the walls there, and scatter into squads. Begin falling back towards the city center. I want every one of our people out there fighting a delaying action.\u201d He glanced at Kryi. \u201cDo we have an estimate on how many troops they\u2019ve managed to land?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe three hundred of the slave troops, and a few dozen warriors?\u201d Kryi speculated. \u201cJust a guess by the number of transports we\u2019ve confirmed got through our fighter screen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight.\u201d Halyn paused for a moment to compose himself. \u201cAlright. Kativie, you\u2019re in charge here\u2014I need you to coordinate the withdrawal to maximize its effectiveness. Anishor, Kelta, Nisia, you\u2019re with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd me,\u201d Ceikeh interjected from near the door.<\/p>\n Halyn turned. \u201cNo offense, but I don\u2019t think politics are going to do us much good against the Vong.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re getting forgetful in your old age, General,\u201d the Zabrak Senator said. \u201cWhat was I when we first met?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight.\u201d Halyn shook his head. \u201cIf you get killed, your wife is going to kill me. Alright, let\u2019s suit up and get moving.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are we going?\u201d Kelta asked. Her expression was surprised, and tinged with suspicion.<\/p>\n She\u2019s wondering why I chose her to come and leave Kativie here<\/em>, Halyn guessed.\u00a0She doesn\u2019t need to know the reasons yet.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cHunting,\u201d he said aloud.<\/p>\n Halyn had, from long habit, maintained his own armory aboard the Cathleen. A small officer\u2019s cabin was registered to a lieutenant who did not actually exist. Fortunately, the quarters had survived the Star Cruiser\u2019s fall from orbit, though the door lacked power to open itself automatically. As was common on starships, the lack of power meant the door was sealed tightly\u2014vacuum proof in case of a hull breach in battle.<\/p>\n Even a star cruiser\u2019s door couldn\u2019t stand up to a Wookiee berserker\u2019s strength.<\/p>\n Kelta and Anishor stood dumbfounded as Halyn rummaged through the racks and cabinets lining the quarters. Ceikeh was utterly unsurprised, taking the opportunity to choose a set of light armor with ballistic shock inserts, strapping on the dark red armor over his clothing.<\/p>\n Halyn, on the other hand, ignored the armor in favor of a dark, floor-length duster of black leather. He stripped out of his uniform jacket and shirt, replacing them with a simple, tight-fitting sleeveless tunic. He wasn\u2019t quick enough for his old friends to miss the striped scars running up and down his back.<\/p>\n \u201cHalyn,\u201d Kelta breathed as he shrugged the duster on. \u201cOh, Halyn, what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n The Zabrak ignored the question as he tightened a gunbelt beneath the duster. A blaster pistol rode his right thigh in a tie-down holster, and a trio of thermal detonators bounced over his left hip. He selected a short-barreled blaster rifle from the rack of energy weapons covering four meters of wall, then crossed to the rack opposite filled with melee weapons.<\/p>\n Instead of choosing a zhaboka\u2014and there were a dozen of them, varying in lengths and weights\u2014he chose a meter-long sword with a curved blade. Wordlessly he hefted it, flicked it back and forth twice, and clipped its sheath to his duster before sliding the weapon in.<\/p>\n Ceikeh, on the other hand, had forgone both the blaster pistols and rifles for a slender flamethrower. He carried the weapon in his hands, with its support sling over his shoulder and several cartridges of gas already clipped to his belt. Over his shoulder he had slung the traditional Iridonian zhaboka. All trace of weakness or cowardice were gone from his expression as he clicked open the feed valve on the flamethrower. \u201cI\u2019m ready,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Halyn finished tying a dark blue headwrap in place around his horns. \u201cLet\u2019s do this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat, exactly,\u201d Kelta said when she had found her voice, \u201care we going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Yuuzhan Vong are trying to spring an ambush on our squads holding the initial landing party at bay,\u201d Halyn explained grimly. \u201cWe\u2019re going to ambush the ambushers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust four of us?\u201d Kelta asked, dumbfounded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have any ally,\u201d Halyn said dryly. \u201cIt\u2019s really big. So does Anishor.\u201d<\/p>\n The Jedi Knight snapped both lightsabers from her belt and ignited the blades, filling the room with a purple glow. \u201cThe Force isn\u2019t very useful against the Yuuzhan Vong,\u201d Kelta said at least.<\/p>\n \u201cSo Kativie keeps telling me,\u201d Halyn replied. \u201cWe\u2019re still going to do what needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n The hum of a blaster powering up was familiar to every one of the combatants. Kelta turned, her blades rising defensively. Their glow revealed the source: Nisia Eisweep.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have anything else to do,\u201d the Zabrak woman said with a shrug. She was already armed with a pair of blaster pistols and the rifle in her hands. \u201cSo we\u2019ll make it a party of five.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSee?\u201d Halyn said to Kelta. \u201cThere\u2019s five of us. We\u2019ll be fine.\u201d His expression lost any trace of amusement, leaving cold fire burning in his eyes. \u201cLet\u2019s kill some Vong.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <Are you planning on walking?> Anishor asked as the five defenders exited the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s wreckage via a still-intact airlock.<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head and pointed. \u201cKativie called for a transport.\u201d<\/p>\n A light freighter was settling to the ground on its struts even as he spoke, its boarding ramp dropping to the broken pavement. A full-fledged turbolaser worthy of a warship was mounted above, while a pair of lighter turrets covered the belly. Proton torpedo launcher alleys were clearly visible under the vessel\u2019s central cockpit. The vaguely wedge-shaped craft boasted two oversized sublight engines and triple hulls, with lighter connecting segments between.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a freighter like that before,\u201d Kelta commented dubiously.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not as common as the Corellian junk that everyone likes,\u201d Halyn said dryly. \u201cThese are Muurian transports. They\u2019re not as flashy as a YT-series craft, but they\u2019re heavily armed from the factory, easy to maintain, and better in a fight. Smugglers love Corellian freighters because they\u2019re great at running away; militaries like Muurians because they\u2019re great at fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta hid her smile.\u00a0Halyn hasn\u2019t changed. Twenty years later, and he still hates Corellian freighters. It\u2019s almost pathological.<\/em>\u00a0She recalled how, years ago, he\u2019d told her\u2014privately\u2014how much he disliked Corellian vessels. A number of his pilots and officers swore by them, though, including Ryian Coron\u2014now commander of the\u00a0Dauntless<\/em>\u2014who had spent several years of the war engaging Imperials in his\u00a0Spinning Cloud<\/em>. Halyn had bit his lip through it all to keep the peace.<\/p>\n Of course, given he\u2019s in charge here now, I shouldn\u2019t be surprised that the Zabraks aren\u2019t using YT freighters.<\/em><\/p>\n The five members of the party walked up the loading ramp but not much further in. The ramp had not fully retracted before the pilot was lifting, sending dust and debris swirling away as the light freighter took to the skies.\u00a0This will only take a few minutes<\/em>, Kelta thought.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Jess,\u201d Nisia said conversationally. \u201cWhy are we fighting this war if we can\u2019t win?\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta turned and raised both eyebrows. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn shrugged loosely. \u201cBecause the Vong need to be fought.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t feed me bullshit, Jess,\u201d Nisia warned. \u201cI know you better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Through the Force, Kelta could feel Halyn\u2019s reluctance to answer.\u00a0All these years later, even with his closest friends and allies, and he still keeps his cards close to his chest.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have to win,\u201d Halyn said at last. \u201cWe just have to not lose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExplain the difference,\u201d Nisia shot back at him.<\/p>\n There was a long delay before Halyn spoke. \u201cThe Vong have been virtually unstoppable since they entered our galaxy,\u201d he said slowly. \u201cThey crushed the New Republic\u2019s defenders everywhere. Even at Ithor where they lost the engagement, they still managed to destroy the planet. They\u2019ve been willing to throw away ships, lives, materiel as if it were nothing. You can\u2019t beat an enemy like that conventionally\u2014you\u2019re never going to win a war with them the way the Rebellion did with the Empire, or the Republic with the Confederation forty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelta heard echoes of Jedi debates over the war with the Yuuzhan Vong.\u00a0How do you defeat an evil like the Vong without becoming evil yourself?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cEven with our fleet and our starfighter squadrons, I knew we could never keep the Vong from landing on Iridonia.\u201d Halyn\u2019s voice was calm and certain. \u201cArgus and I knew that after the debacle at Ithor, and we were proved right up and down the invasion corridor. We simply didn\u2019t have the firepower, and there was no way to acquire it in time to make a difference. Every shipyard in the galaxy is turning out warships for the effort; there\u2019s not exactly a bunch of ships that are purchasable. Hell, the New Republic has been pulling out old Star Cruisers from the days of the Rebellion and refurbishing them for the effort. I don\u2019t doubt that if we hadn\u2019t have bought our three MC80s before the war broke out, they\u2019d have wound up serving in the New Republic fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n Nisia\u2019s eyes narrowed. \u201cSo how do you intend to win?\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand. I meant it when I said we can\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n Nisia\u2019s sigh was exasperated. \u201cSo how, Jess, do you intend to\u00a0not lose<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy maintaining a viable resistance,\u201d Halyn answered promptly. \u201cWe knew that we couldn\u2019t keep the Vong out of orbit because we had too few capital ships and too many starfighters. On the other hand, if we conserved our strength\u2014and Argus and I wargamed this a thousand ways before he died\u2014we could use our starfighters to ensure the Vong couldn\u2019t establish\u00a0air<\/em>\u00a0superiority. The most vulnerable time for any invading force is when it transitions from space to ground. The weakest point for an invading army is its supply lines, which require transit from space to ground. Our starfighter squadrons can and will ensure that the Vong can\u2019t get their reinforcements through to the ground that they need. Their supplies will be similarly crippled.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, it all comes down to starfighters anyway?\u201d Nisia asked with confusion.<\/p>\n Halyn shook his head. \u201cWars are won by boots on the ground. If we lose air superiority, the Vong can land troops and supplies with impunity, and they\u2019ll eventually overwhelm us by sheer numbers. With our squadrons keeping their supply chains cut, though, we have a chance of going toe-to-toe with their ground forces and beating them back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd by beating them back you mean\u2026?\u201d Kelta asked.<\/p>\n Halyn\u2019s voice was even, and he looked Kelta straight in the eyes. \u201cWe\u2019ll kill every Yuuzhan Vong who is walking on Iridonia right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A voice spoke over the internal comm for the ship. \u201cWe\u2019re approaching the drop zone. The Vong have a couple of skips here harassing us, so this will be a touch-and-go. Once we\u2019re pulled out, you\u2019re on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n Halyn slapped the comm switch. \u201cRoger that, and thanks. Status on the other two drop ships?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re right behind us,\u201d the pilot said. \u201cAnd from the sounds of it, they\u2019re ready for a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood, because they\u2019re about to get one.\u201d He flicked the switch off and turned to face the boarding ramp.<\/p>\n The ship bounced once, twice as plasma blasts and magma missiles ate away at its shields, but the pilot held it steady. There was a sickening sense of vertigo as the ship abruptly dropped, one that even the inertial compensators and the artificial gravity couldn\u2019t fully dissipate. Then the ramp fell open to the dust, and Halyn led the way, charging out with the short-barreled blaster rifle in hand.<\/p>\n Kelta shook her head, freed both lightsabers from her belt, and followed him down the ramp and into a swarm of thud bugs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sandarie clung tightly to the blaster rifle she\u2019d appropriated from the\u00a0Cathleen<\/em>\u2019s armory. In spite of the black armor clinging to her from the neck down\u2014there was no helmet on Iridonia that would accommodate a Twi\u2019lek\u2019s head-tails\u2014she felt oddly vulnerable. I was never the warrior, she reminded herself.\u00a0That was always all the others\u2014Ryian, Halyn, Jascen, Airek, even Allanna. I was the one who gathered information, ran supplies, helped make plans.<\/em><\/p>\n She also knew she\u2019d been in her share of battles during the tumultuous years of the Galactic Civil War. She had always preferred to avoid fighting, but when called upon, she had picked up a blaster or vibroblade like everyone else.\u00a0I might not have been a member of the Rebel Alliance\u2019s military, but I\u2019ve not backed down from a fight when I\u2019m needed.<\/em><\/p>\n The Twi\u2019lek did take comfort from the warriors around her. They were mostly silent, some even peaceful, as they prepared themselves for the battle to come. It wasn\u2019t a matter of\u00a0if<\/em>\u00a0for these brave warriors, either\u2014it was only\u00a0when<\/em>. Each of them, as near as she could tell, was content with that fact.\u00a0They\u2019re willing to fight and kill and die so others don\u2019t have to. It\u2019s their purpose for living.<\/em>\u00a0She found the only way she could honor their choice was to respect their silence; she spoke only when spoken to.<\/p>\n The drop ship rocked from a blow to its shields, nearly throwing Sandarie from her feet.\u00a0Coralskippers aren\u2019t giving up<\/em>, she thought.<\/p>\n \u201cDrop point in fifteen seconds,\u201d the pilot\u2019s voice called. \u201cEvac immediately; it\u2019s too hot for me to stick around.\u201d<\/p>\n There were roars of acknowledgement and approval. Sandi felt nothing but slightly nauseated, both at the rocking of the ship\u2014now continuous as the Yuuzhan Vong fighters apparently strengthened their attacks\u2014and at anticipation for the battle to come. She glanced down, checked the charge on her rifle, ensured her vibroblade was still in its sheath, and closed her eyes.\u00a0Goddess protect me.<\/em><\/p>\n There was a final sickening feeling of falling, and the engines fell silent. The boarding ramp fell to the ground with a thud, and Sandarie followed twenty armed and battle-ready Wookiee berserkers from the Muurian transport\u2019s hold.<\/p>\n Smoke and dust filled the air outside the transport. The drop ship\u2019s engines whined to life and it lifted away, but the Twi\u2019lek could barely hear it over the battle roars of the Wookiees. Through the wall of fur in front of her, she could see glimpses of Yuuzhan Vong warriors screaming their own battle cries as they charged the berserkers.<\/p>\n To her left, she could see a third transport disgorge more Wookiee berserkers. The transport was still under assault by coralskippers. Late-arriving X-wings swooped down to engage the skips, but the Yuuzhan Vong continued their intensive attack on the transport. The last of the Wookiees had barely stepped foot on the ground when the landing ramp retracted and the transport began to lift.<\/p>\n The shields were aglow as plasma balls and magma missiles bounced off them, denied their destructive potential. One coralskipper, either intentionally or by vice of too-slow reflexives, smashed into the transport on a pass. The shields failed, and the coralskipper crushed itself against the transport\u2019s hull. Crippled, the vessel began to list, until another salvo of plasma consumed the vessel.<\/p>\n The shockwave of the explosion hurled the nearest Wookiees from their feet, and the flash of fire blinded Sandarie for a moment. She felt the shockwave pass over her, hurl her to the ground. When she could see again, she could see blood and hair.<\/p>\n Half-deafened, she staggered to her feet and picked up her blaster rifle again. To her right, she could see a smaller group engaged with the Yuuzhan Vong\u2014the friends that had brought her to this world. Halyn Lance was fighting a warrior a head taller than himself, the sword in his hand madly parrying the attacker\u2019s amphistaff. Mighty Anishor\u2014I\u2019ve still never met a Wookiee bigger than him<\/em>\u2014had a giant rykk blade longer than Sandi\u2019s legs in either hand, moving so fast her eyes couldn\u2019t follow his attacks and blocks. Violet-eyed Kelta Rose held twin flames of purple, her lightsabers keeping three Yuuzhan Vong at bay as she fought defensively.<\/p>\n Sandi finally became aware of someone talking to her. She turned, found the Zabrak woman there she had brought to Iridonia\u2014Nisia Eisweep. Sandi squinted and read the other woman\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019m alright,\u201d Sandi shouted. \u201cCan hardly hear.\u201d<\/p>\n Nisia pointed with her blaster pistol, then started firing. Sandi turned back, saw one of the reptoid slave troops take several bolts to the head and fall. The Twi\u2019lek blushed at her moment\u2019s distraction, then raised her blaster rifle and sighted on one of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors trying to penetrate Kelta\u2019s defenses.<\/p>\n At forty meters distant, it wasn\u2019t a difficult shot with a rifle, but the warrior\u2019s vonduun crab armor turned it aside. He turned towards Sandi and Nisia as fire from Nisia\u2019s less-powerful blaster pistol bounced off him in quick succession. The moment\u2019s distraction cost him dearly; Kelta\u2019s off-hand lightsaber cut his legs out from under him, and he went down thrashing.<\/p>\n Sandi nodded grimly and kept firing. Nisia\u2019s blaster pistols whined behind her, joining the chaos.\u00a0My hearing\u2019s coming back<\/em>, Sandi noted distantly.\u00a0That\u2019s a good sign.<\/em><\/p>\n Kelta\u2019s violet blades flashed in a faster pattern yet, and first one, then the other of her opponents fell. She was breathing heavily as she turned towards Halyn and Anishor. Sandi swung her rifle over and, in spite of the years of warfare, was shocked at what she saw.<\/p>\n Halyn\u2019s sword took his opponent\u2019s head off at the neck even as she watched. The Vong warrior toppled impossibly slowly, a striking contrast to the one who replaced him, leaping forward with his amphistaff raised high to smash down on the smaller Zabrak. Halyn rushed forward into the attack, plunging the blade deep into his belly before the Vong could strike.<\/p>\n Anishor had dropped one of his rykk blades. With the remaining blade he was parrying away strikes from four Yuuzhan Vong who were trying to outflank him. Sandi\u2019s heart caught in her throat.\u00a0He\u2019s lost one of his weapons already!<\/em><\/p>\n Then the massive Wookiee snaked out with his free hand, impossibly fast, and caught an attacking warrior\u2019s wrist. The Yuuzhan Vong dropped his amphistaff, perhaps as a result of a Wookiee paw\u2019s squeeze. Anishor twisted, his muscles bulging under his fur, and swung the warriors into all three of his fellows. All four went down in a heap, and abruptly Nisia\u2019s blasterfire was burning into the mound of fallen Yuuzhan Vong. Sandi was surprised to find herself shooting as well.<\/p>\n I hate war.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lenn Kaman never felt more alive than those precious hours he was strapped in the cockpit of a starfighter. His career had begun long ago, and most would call him too old for starfighter combat. He had trained in the … Continue reading