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Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 10 UP 20/09**
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Aleria
Registered:
Apr '07
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Date Posted:
5/29 3:51pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 2 UP 29/0
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Wow, amazing.  You've totally flipped things around and certainly created a lot of perplexing situations! This is very interesting and I can't wait to read more.
Wonder when they're going to figure out the parallel universe thing... Maybe Valin already had an inkling of a thought about that. But I guess I'll just have to wait and see, right?
Loved the protective Jag, by the way! 
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Burden of the Throne - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28365918/p1/?0 Liaison to the House of Fel of the Corellian FC "You know, sometimes I amaze even myself." - Han
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Draconarius
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
5/29 8:05pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 2 UP 29/0
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Aleria:
Wow, amazing. You've totally flipped things around and certainly created a lot of perplexing situations! This is very interesting and I can't wait to read more.
That's the fun of writing AUs; you can go absolutely nuts messing around with canon. 
Wonder when they're going to figure out the parallel universe thing... Maybe Valin already had an inkling of a thought about that. But I guess I'll just have to wait and see, right?
You don't really expect me to give anything away, do you? 
Loved the protective Jag, by the way!
 Always happy to please.
jadesabre75
Oooooo. I love this story!!!! LOL Awesome job! Can't wait to see Anakin and Jaina together.
Not just yet... we've got to figure out the whole AU thing and then we have to meet the bad guys.
Jainasolo101
Great job. I love the Jag side where he's all protective of his sister. Also I like the Valin/Wyn moments. Waiting till next post.
Like I said to cheese, it's actually quite fun writing this AU-Wynssa. Big brother Jag is pretty fun, as well.
You (as in, all readers) shouldn't have long to wait for the next one. It's coming along very nicely.
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Shattered Mirror - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28487856/p1/?1 Proudly A/T and J/J Knighted by the wonderful SilSolo  "Damned if I'm gonna lose to you!" "Then damned you shall be!" - my brother and I playing Smash Bros.
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Jek_Windu
Registered:
Jan '03
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Date Posted:
5/30 8:52pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 2 UP 29/0
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Great chapter. I really liked how you switched between the viewpoints to keep everything clipping along at a good pace.
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Tryanids: You don't have enough bullets! Imperial Guard: YES WE DO! R.I.P. Trini 
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rebel_cheese
Registered:
Jul '06
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Date Posted:
5/30 9:46pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 2 UP 29/0
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I'll try to post a longer response tomorrow but for now I just want to say that I liked the chapter.
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Padawan of princess_of_naboo E-married to the amazing padawanlost Member of Charon_Force Beginning's End: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=28450077&brd=10477&replies=1
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VhenRa
Registered:
May '08
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Date Posted:
5/31 5:57am
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 2 UP 29/0
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Think you could add me to the list to notify?
Good so far too
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Draconarius
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
5/31 7:15pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 2 UP 29/0
- Date Edited:
6/4 8:12pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Draconarius
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Jek_Windu:
Great chapter. I really liked how you switched between the viewpoints to keep everything clipping along at a good pace.
Thanks.
rebel_cheese:
I'll try to post a longer response tomorrow but for now I just want to say that I liked the chapter.
Fair enough. I'll look forward to it.
VhenRa:
Think you could add me to the list to notify?
Yay, new reader!  Consider it done.
Good so far too
Thanks.
-----signature-----
Shattered Mirror - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28487856/p1/?1 Proudly A/T and J/J Knighted by the wonderful SilSolo "Damned if I'm gonna lose to you!" "Then damned you shall be!" - my brother and I playing Smash Bros.
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Draconarius
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
6/5 6:49pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 2 UP 29/0
- Date Edited:
7/9 1:27am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Draconarius
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New chapter! This one is significantly re-worked from the old version, and now includes a brief appearance from everyone's most hated  !
Enjoy!
CHAPTER THREE: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE
Star Destroyer Alchemist
Deep Space near the former Chiss Ascendancy
The first thing Valin saw after stepping out of the turbolift and onto the Alchemist’s bridge was that none of the three Jedi he was looking for was present. In fact, not even the Captain was around. Valin took a second look around the bridge to make sure—and decided that he would have seen Vergere by now if she and the others were here—before he went to Kayti’s console instead.
“Ah, Kayti?”
The fourteen-year-old sensor officer was so engrossed in her work that she jumped… and then blushed when she saw Valin. “Oh… hi, Valin,” she said awkwardly. “What’s up? Can I help?”
Valin suppressed a grin. He had known for a long time that Kayti had a crush on him, and had he not already been in love with Wynssa, he probably would have asked her out by now. “I’m just looking for Kyle and Danni. Seen ‘em?”
“Yeah.” Valin cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, right. You want to know where they are,” she said, understandably embarrassed. “They asked to talk to Captain Kre’fey. He took them into his ready room.”
“Thank you, Kayti.” Valin knew full well he was baiting the poor girl when he gave her a smile and headed for the ready room, leaving her comically flustered with herself. Inside, the Captain and his desk were surrounded by Jedi knights. Kyle and Jaden were hovering over Kre’fey’s shoulders, watching the holographic screen floating just above the desk as a dozen different reports drifted across it. Danni was sitting in one of the chairs, mulling over a datapadd while another three sat on her lap, her spare hand rubbing the slight bulge of her pregnancy. Across the room, the purplish-blue bird creature Valin knew as Vergere was sitting—nesting?—in the other chair, obviously deep in thought but not actually studying anything. The only person who Valin hadn’t expected to see was Zekk; the dark-haired Jedi was looking over Danni’s shoulder, trying to keep his attention off Danni and on the datapadd.
“Found anything?” Valin asked.
“No, we haven’t,” Jaden replied, brushing a stray lock of blonde hair away from his face. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Wynssa and whoever those two are?”
“They’re fine, and I’m almost certain it really is Jag down there,” Valin replied. “He looks like him, talks like him, and he obviously cares for Wynssa.”
“Is she okay?”
“Holding up. I left Jag a commlink in case she gets another flashback. I hope she doesn’t; that’d be two in less than a week.” Valin quickly returned to the actual reason he’d come. “Like I was saying, he looks like Jag, talks like him, cares for Wyn, but… let’s just say he could use a history lesson.”
“He doesn’t remember anything?” Danni asked, her scientist voice creeping in.
“Oh, no, he remembers plenty,” Valin explained. “It’s just all wrong, that’s all.”
“Wrong… how?” Danni was in full-scientist mode now.
Valin had to speak quite quickly to keep the others from interrupting. “For one thing, he thinks that we won the war, not the Vong. He also seems to believe that Anakin died at Myrkr, instead of Jaina. He doesn’t remember he and I looking after Wyn. In fact, he didn’t even know about what happened to Csilla. Ah… what else?... oh, yeah; he doesn’t remember helping us steal the Alchemist, and he obviously doesn’t remember dying in the process.”
“So his memory is screwed up,” Zekk said. “That doesn’t prove anything, Valin.”
“Not by itself,” Danni said. “Captain, have the techs finished going over their shuttle yet?”
Kre’fey pulled up a report from the hangar deck. “There wasn’t much to go over, Knight Durron. Our guests are apparently quite lucky that their ship didn’t fall apart during the reversion to hyperspace.”
“According to Jag, he and Jaina were ambushed by an interdictor cruiser just before they showed up here,” Valin explained. “The ship took damage just before they jumped to hyperspace.”
“Which might have damaged the hyperdrive,” Danni continued.
“It definitely damaged the hyperdrive,” Jaden corrected, pointing at the technicians’ report. “Massive power failure. The logs indicate they were in hyperspace for less than a minute.”
“Which brings me to my theory,” Valin said. “Danni, have you heard the rumours about what happens when a ship experiences a hyperdrive malfunction?”
“The most widely accepted theory is that the ship gets stuck in hyperspace forever,” Danni said. “But there are other ones.”
“Like the one about the alternate universe,” Valin said. “The unfortunate ship gets hurled out of hyperspace, but instead of coming out in their universe, they come out in a completely different one.”
Kyle gave Valin his best incredulous look. “You’re saying that our two guests down there are from a totally different universe?” He shook his head. “Sounds like something out of a bad holo-vid.”
“Actually… it is.” As sure as he was about his theory, Valin had to cringe away from everyone else’s painfully sceptical looks. “I got the idea from one of the holo-vids Myri made Wyn and I watch last time we met up with the Magician.”
The only person who didn’t groan, roll their eyes, or find some other way to express their disappointment or simple annoyance with Valin was Danni. She also seemed to be the only one taking Valin seriously.
“It’s not… entirely implausible,” Danni said in Valin’s and her own defence.
“No offence, Danni, but it’s ridiculous,” Zekk said, his thus far unrequited crush showing through in his voice. “It’s impossible.”
“So is seeing Jag Fel or Jaina Solo alive and well,” Valin countered. “But I saw them both less than five minutes ago.”
“Very well, Valin. Let’s assume you’re right,” Kre’fey said, resting his face upon his knitted fingers. “You said that Jag believes we should have won the war, correct?”
“Ah-huh.”
“How?” Kre’fey asked. “We lost this war the moment Artran Kharran made his entrance at Csilla. How did they defeat him?”
“They might not have had to beat him,” Danni speculated. “He might never have existed in their universe. Died as a child, his parents never met, his grandparents never met. The amount of differences there could be between their universe and ours are endless. For all we know, Emperor Palpatine might never have existed in their universe.”
“We get the general idea, Danni.” Kyle shook his head as he let out an amused chuckle. “So far, it’s the best explanation we have. The only other reasonable explanation is that the Vong are behind it, and if what Vergere is telling us is true, then that’s about as likely as Kharran switching sides.”
“You have no idea,” the bird said cryptically.
Valin shrugged the bird’s behaviour off; she was usually that… weird. “Alright,” he said. “My next questions are: how do we prove it, and how do we tell them?”
“Do you mean Jaina and Jag, or Anakin and Wynssa?” Zekk ventured.
“All of them.”
“We should at least try to confirm our little theory first,” Kyle said.
“Our?”
“Alright, Valin. We should try to confirm your theory first.” Valin saw Danni roll her eyes as Kyle continued. “Danni, you and I can go talk to Jaina and Jag, check their version of the war against ours. Provided that we find some way to back Valin’s theory up, Zekk, I’ll get you to go tell Anakin. Gently.” Kyle turned to Valin. “On the same line of thought, Valin, I think you should tell Wynssa.”
“Yeah.” Valin ruffled his hair self-consciously. “That’ll be a fun conversation.”
“Just try to make her understand that the Jag Fel down there is still her brother, from a certain point of view,” Danni said, obviously trying to be helpful. “It’s likely that most of his memories will be identical to our Jag’s. He’ll just have a few more, that’s all.”
“I asked Wynssa to take our friends to one of the spare officers quarters. Force knows we’re not using all of them,” Jaden said. “Should be a fair bit more private than the med bay.”
“You cleared that with the Captain, I hope?” Kre’fey nodded as Kyle glanced at him. “Good. Danni, Valin, come on. We’ve got visitors from another universe to talk to.”
The door to the empty officer’s quarters opened with a soft hiss, letting Wyn and her two companions look inside at the rather Spartan quarters. There was no carpet as the occupied quarters had, just the dull grey of the metal floor. The bed was situated against the wall farthest from the door, and a small two-seater couch lay against the next-closest wall. The other wall was taken up by the small kitchen, a table, and two chairs. Near all that was the door leading to the small fresher and shower.
“Ah, Wynssa,” Jaina said as he cast a disapproving look around. “Are all your officers’ quarters this… basic?”
“The Alchemist’s a warship, Jaina, not a hotel,” Wynssa replied. “Besides, the Imperials never had time to finish installing the amenities in all the quarters. We stole it as soon as we were sure all of the important systems were completed. Consider yourselves lucky we don’t have many high-ranking officers; these quarters are usually reserved for Lieutenant Commanders and above.” She stepped aside and let Jag and Jaina enter the room. “The quarters across the hall are empty as well, Jaina, if you’d like to use them.”
Jaina shrugged and changed the subject. “So what were you two talking about in the med lab before I woke up?”
“Her boyfriend,” Jag said with a distinctly noticeable edge of dislike for the very concept in his voice.
“Boyfriend?” Jaina blurted. “You weren’t dating anyone when we left you at Csilla.”
Wynssa groaned. “I appreciate the big-sister act, Jaina, but I am allowed to be in a relationship if I want to. Besides—like I’ve already told you—we never met on Csilla.”
Jaina opened her mouth to argue the point, but quickly decided against it. “My head hurts too much for an argument like that,” she sighed. “Who is it? Your boyfriend.”
“Valin.”
“Valin?”
“Valin,” Wynssa confirmed. “He’s been my best friend ever since I met him. He almost died three months ago after a mission. Nearly losing him made me realized that I love him, and nearly dying made him realize that he loved me. Afterwards, we kinda… kissed.”
Jag decided to change the subject. “We were also talking about your death, Jaina.”
“I’m not dead, Jag.”
“Well, actually, you’re both dead,” Wynssa reminded them.
Jaina let out an exasperated groan. “What happened? To me, I mean. You said the entire Myrkr strike team was killed.”
Wynssa took a deep breath as she felt the mental blocks on her Myrkr memories starting to crack. They had started failing her in the med lab when she had told Jag about the Vong attack on Csilla, but she had been able to fight the horrific memories back down using her willpower and a little bit of emotional support from Valin. Here, though, without Valin to help her, she doubted she’d be able to hold the flashback off should she end up thinking about Myrkr too much.
And, judging by Jaina’s question, that was exactly what the supposedly dead Jedi wanted to talk about.
“Not everyone died. Anakin, Tahiri, and Zekk s-survived.” Wynssa’s brow crinkled in frustration at the stutter.
Jag didn’t miss it, either. “Wyn? Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Wyn forced out through her gritted teeth. She pressed her palm against her temples as if that would somehow help her fight off the memories she could already feel slipping through the cracks in her mental blocks. “I’m, I’m f-fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Jag cupped her cheek with one hand to make her look at him and then pulled her into a hug.
“Yes, I am,” Wynssa protested, though she didn’t fight as Jag’s arms wrapped her in a very warm big-brother embrace. Having Jag simply hold her somehow managed to make it so easy for her to hold off the memories that for a few entirely too short seconds she simply let her head rest on Jag’s shoulder and let herself enjoy having him back in her life.
“I’m sorry, Wynssa,” Jaina said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Wynssa assured her. “It’s just really hard for me to talk about M-Myrkr.”
“You don’t have to explain,” Jaina insisted. “But… listen, I haven’t been able to sense anyone in the Force since coming aboard this ship, and I know it’s not just because of this blasted head wound. How many Jedi are left?”
“There’s eight,” Kyle Katarn announced from the doorway.
Wynssa pushed herself out of Jag’s embrace, not entirely sure if the Jedi Master would approve of her acting as if Jag were really her brother returned from the dead. Kyle was standing just inside the door—which Wynssa only now realised she had neglected to close—and beside him stood Danni and Valin. Valin looked genuinely happy that Wynssa was getting along with her brother.
“Hey, Wyn,” her boyfriend said. “Do you mind if we talk outside for a moment?”
“Um… yeah, sure.” Wynssa furrowed her brow, unsure whether Valin really did need to talk to her or if he was just finding a polite way to leave Kyle and Danni alone with Jaina and Jag. “Jaina, Jag, do you two know Kyle and Danni?”
“Wyn, please,” Valin insisted.
“Alright, alright! I’m coming. Heaven’s sake,” Wynssa grumbled, though to be perfectly honest she was glad to have a minute alone with Valin. She really needed his help to reinforce her Myrkr mental blocks. “I’ll be back in a minute, Jag.”
“As long as you’re going to be okay, Wyn.”
“I’ll be fine, Jag, I promise.” Wyn wanted to add especially now that Valin’s here, but decided that it would give Jag far too many disturbing images of what she and Valin might be doing. She gave Jag one last smile and then let Valin lead her into the corridor outside, then led him into the quarters across the hall.
“I only wanted to talk,” Valin said as Wyn closed the door. “But if you want some… intimate time, I’m all for it.”
Wynssa glared at him. “Pervert.”
“What?” Valin shrugged, not really denying the accusation.
“I can’t believe I’m in love with you.”
“Oh, now that was uncalled for,” he jested, then joined her on the couch. “Seriously, though, what is it?”
Without Jag’s comforting embrace, the Myrkr memories were again starting to break free of the mental blocks. Wyn jumped straight to the point and said, “Jaina asked about Myrkr, and I—.”
“Oh.” Valin slid one arm around Wyn’s shoulders held her close as he brushed her hair behind her ear and laid his hand across her forehead, and Wynssa felt herself begin to relax as Valin started sending soothing pulses of Force energy into her, making the normally disturbing sensation of him slipping in and reinforcing her mental blocks into one that was only slightly uncomfortable.
“Thanks, Valin,” she moaned as he worked. “I was afraid I was going to have another flashback. I wasn’t sure whether Jag could help or not.”
“That’s one way to test if it’s really him or not, I suppose.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Wyn mumbled, nestling against Valin’s side. “He’s the only person who’s ever been able to help me with the flashbacks without using the Force.”
Valin smiled. “I’m really glad to see you so happy, Wyn. I almost don’t want to tell you…”
He trailed off, but he’d already caught Wyn’s attention. “Tell me what?” she demanded.
“It’s…” Valin let out a groan. “It’s nothing, Wyn. I’ll tell you later.”
“No, you’ll tell me now.” She pushed him away and glared straight into his eyes—which looked strangely guilt-ridden.
“Just let me finish with the blocks first, Wyn.” Wynssa pushed him away when he tried to start working on her mental blocks again, fuelling them with her growing anger instead. “Wyn, I haven’t finished yet! You’re still in danger of having another flashback, and if I tell you what I was going to tell you it might trigger one.”
“I don’t care!”
“Yes, Wyn, you do.”
“Valin, just tell me!”
“Okay, okay! Just… calm down. Please.” Valin took Wyn’s hands in his, and she realized that he was about to tell her something bad. Something very, very bad.
“It’s about Jag, isn’t it,” she murmured, terrified that he was actually going to say yes. “He’s not really Jag, is he?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean, you’re not sure?” He might as well have said No, he isn’t for all Wyn cared. In a burst of blinding emotional agony, she realized that she’d been right in her Scorcher outside the Alchemist; this Jag was just some impostor. He wasn’t her brother.
And she had just given him the same love she’d had for the real Jag. Her Jag.
She wanted to scream.
“No, he is Jag!” Valin shouted before she could, taking advantage of her horror to pull her into his arms and start his work on her memory blocks again. “Please calm down, Wynssa. Just let me explain.”
“But… if it’s not about Jag, then… then what is it?”
“It is about Jag.” Valin seemed to be having a very hard time choosing his words. “Listen, this is going to sound a little weird, but we—Danni, Kyle, and me, I mean—we think that Jag and Jaina are from…
…an alternate universe?” Jaina blurted, staring at Danni as the other woman was certifiably crazy. She had, at Danni’s request, just finished explaining the events leading up to Jaina and Jag’s ill-fated run in with the Nightmare. Danni’s response had been to announce her little ‘alternate universe’ theory.
Jaina was sceptical, to say the least.
Danni brought her hand to her eyes, leaning her elbow on her knee. She and Kyle had taken the chairs from the dining table and had moved them so they could talk with Jaina and Jag, who were sitting side by side on the couch. “I thought you’d say that.”
“We’ll admit, it sounds—.”
“Crazy?” Jag suggested.
“I was going to say unusual,” Kyle replied. “But it’s the best explanation we’ve got. Valin told us that you believe we won the war eight months ago.”
“That’s right,” Jaina replied. “You should know that. Both of you should know that, you helped us take back… Coruscant…” Jaina stopped suddenly as she saw Kyle and Danni’s looks. “Neither of you have any idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
They shook their heads, and Kyle said, “No, we don’t. We lost the war eight months ago. Kharran attacked Mon Calamari and—.”
“Kharran?” Jaina interrupted. “Who’s Kharran?”
Danni almost jumped. “Artran Kharran. You’ve never heard of him?”
Jaina shook her head, and beside her, Jag did the same.
Kyle’s brows sprang up in surprise. “The Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster?”
“The last Warmaster we had to deal with was Nas Choka,” Jaina said.
“Choka?” Kyle asked. “We should be so lucky.”
Jaina was beginning to believe that the alternate universe theory might—just—actually be plausible. “Okay… so, assuming for a moment that your theory is correct… how did it happen?”
“The report that our technicians gave us said that your shuttle took massive damage during your scrap with that interdictor,” Kyle began. “Most of the systems are totalled, including the hyperdrive. You two are lucky you reverted to realspace at all.”
Danni took over. “No one actually knows what happens to a ship whose hyperdrive safeties fail mid-jump.”
“You should both know at least a few of the horror stories,” Kyle said. “Getting stuck in hyperspace forever, ripped apart during a forced re-entry—.”
“—or gets thrown into another dimension,” Jaina finished. “I heard that one a fair bit while I was in Rogue Squadron.”
“We think it actually happened,” Danni said.
“It’s impossible,” Jag stated. Jaina understood his scepticism. She could hardly believe what Kyle and Danni were saying, and she didn’t have a lifetime of pragmatic Chiss military training backing it up.
“Think about it, Colonel. It’s the only explanation that makes sense,” Danni replied. “You say that you’d only just left the Ascendancy when you ran into that interdictor?”
Jag nodded warily.
“Well, we know that can’t be true,” Danni said. “The Chiss Ascendancy was destroyed just over three years ago.”
“The last time we even saw a Chiss warship was eighteen months ago,” Kyle added.
Jag was resolute. “That’s not possible. The Yuuzhan Vong never launched a major attack on the Ascendancy.”
“In your galaxy, Jag,” Danni continued. “Over here, they launched an all-out invasion of Csilla just before the fall of Coruscant.”
“It was brilliant, actually,” Kyle said. “They attacked enough of your colony worlds and bases to draw your fleets out and then hit Csilla with everything they had. It was such a simple strategy that the Chiss admirals refused to believe the Vong would dare use it.”
“That. Never. Happened,” Jag insisted.
“Jag…” Jaina laid a hand on his shoulder. “Jag, you saw Wyn’s scars.”
“Yes, I did. But that doesn’t prove that we’re from an ‘alternate universe’,” Jag said flatly. “It’s preposterous.”
“So you believe Wyn when she tells you that the Vong destroyed Csilla, but you won’t believe us when we tell you the same thing.” Kyle was obviously enjoying pointing out Jag’s flawed logic.
“I…” Jag let out a low growl, which was probably the closest he was going to come to admitting Kyle was right.
Jaina, meanwhile, was focusing on one of the most important issues Danni’s theory had raised. “So if you’re right, and we are from an alternate universe, then doesn’t that mean that Anakin isn’t really my brother?”
“I guess,” Danni groaned. “He’s still Anakin Solo, and he’s probably almost identical to the Anakin you remember… depending on how much is different between our two universes. I guess it comes down to your point of view. Valin’s probably having the same talk with Wynssa right now.”
“You got him to tell her?” Jag demanded.
“He is her boyfriend,” Kyle reminded him, bringing a scowl to Jag’s face.
“This is going to be hard on her,” Danni said. “You have no idea how much she missed you, Colonel. Your death tore her apart. Valin should be able to convince that you are, for all intents and purposes, Jagged Fel, but still…” She took a deep breath and moved on. “It would help our theory if we knew how different our two universes are. Since you two existed and you’ve fought the Vong, I can’t imagine them being too different. We would like to ask you two a few questions, if that’s okay.”
Jaina nodded, and looked to Jag to see if he was interested. He was gazing at the door, probably trying to think of a way to excuse himself and go talk to his sister—if she even really counted as his sister.
With a sigh, Jaina said, “Jag?”
“I... Wyn—.”
“Should probably have some time to think this through before she sees you again,” Danni suggested. “She can be quite… fragile.”
Jaina put her hand over Jag’s and gave it a quick squeeze to try and calm him down. “Sure, Danni. I’d like to know exactly how you managed to lose the war. It’s got something to do with that new Vong Warmaster you mentioned, right?”
Kyle nodded. “His name is Artran Kharran, and he’s the Yuuzhan Vong version of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He’s also a sadistic monster, and, unfortunately for us Jedi, he’s Force sensitive.”
Considering their discovery of Omini at the end of the war, Jaina and Jag were less surprised than they would have been otherwise, so they let Kyle continue without interrupting him.
“He led the attack on Csilla,” Kyle continued to explain. “He captured Wynssa, and then tortured her on Myrkr. He was guarding the planet when Anakin’s strike team went in.”
“Wyn mentioned that,” Jaina interrupted. “She said that only Anakin, Tahiri, and Zekk survived.”
“That’s right,” Danni said. “Kharran staged a counter attack almost as soon as you landed on the planet. Half the team died in the first fight, and you and Raynar were taken prisoner.”
Kyle took over from there. “The survivors—Anakin, Tahiri, Jacen, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, and Zekk—decided to abandon killing the voxyn queen and launch a rescue attempt. By the time they got to you, Raynar had been executed and Kharran had almost tortured you to death, Jaina. Jacen and Tenel Ka held Kharran off while the others got you and Wyn outside, where you died in Anakin’s arms. Lowbacca had to stay behind to buy enough time to launch the ship. He died just as the others launched, and we never found out what happened to Tenel Ka.”
Jaina’s mouth was agape. She had always thought that the Myrkr strike could hardly have gone any worse, but this… it was a complete disaster. “What happened to Jacen?” she asked.
“That’s another story,” Kyle replied ambiguously. “In any event, Kharran was called to Yuuzhan’tar to appear before the Supreme Overlord. He found out that Omini—a little Shamed One Shimrra kept around as a pet—was actually controlling Shimrra, and he killed him.”
“How do you know about that?” Jaina demanded. “We only found about Omini after Shimrra was dead.”
“Let’s just say a little birdie told us,” Kyle said cryptically. “Once Omini was dead, Kharran began controlling Shimrra himself. He killed Tsavong Lah in some kind of honour duel and replaced him as Warmaster. Since then, he’s taken the Hapans, the Ssi-ruuk, the New Republic, and finally the Empire. His invasion of Mon Calamari pretty much ended the war. There’s only a few pockets of resistance left.”
“Then how did you survive?” Jag asked.
“After Kharran began conquering the galaxy, Jaden and I came into contact with an Imperial stealth systems expert by the name of Caselle Mirion,” Kyle explained. “She told us that the Empire expected to be wiped out either before or just after the destruction of Mon Calamari, and were developing a number of stealth ships to use in a guerrilla campaign.
“Shortly after I came into contact with her, Kharran ordered the New Republic to turn over all the Jedi or be destroyed. The New Republic agreed, so I told Luke about Caselle and suggested stealing one or two of the ships.”
“Uncle Luke agreed to that?” Jaina blurted. “That’s seem a bit out of character.”
“What other choice did he have?” Danni asked. “The Vong were after us, the New Republic was after us. We had almost no friends left. It was either steal those ships or die.”
“We escaped Mon Calamari thanks to Captain Kre’fey and General Antilles,” Kyle continued. “They took us to the shipyard where the Alchemist was being built and helped us steal her and her sister ship, the Magician. We lost the Lusankya and the Ralroost fighting the Vong and the Imperial defenders, but it was worth it. Kre’fey’s in command of this ship, now, and Wedge took the Magician. He keeps it hidden away in the unknown regions most of the time, trying to secure resources he can give to us. We meet up with them every month.”
Jaina couldn’t stop her mouth dropping once Kyle finished his brief history lesson. She just couldn’t fathom how one Yuuzhan Vong could cause such a huge difference. She was glad that this Kharran had never shown up in her and Jag’s universe, or things might be just as bad… over… there…
“Wait… our universe!” Jaina almost shouted. “How are we going to get home?”
Kyle and Danni looked at each other guiltily, and it only took a moment for Jaina to realise why.
“You can’t send us back, can you?” she squeaked, the very idea almost too much for her to handle.
“We’re stuck here?” Jag added.
“You have to understand, the Alchemist is a warship, not a science vessel,” Danni said. “We just don’t have the resources to find a way to send you back.”
“What?” Jaina screamed. “No, you have to find a way to send us back. Our families are back there! Our lives are back there. What if we just took our shuttle and jumped again? Maybe the hyperdrive—.”
Kyle shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jaina, but you’re shuttle isn’t even worth scrapping for parts, it’s that badly damaged. You wouldn’t be able to get it out of the hangar, let alone jump to hyperspace with it.”
“What if we took the hyperdrive and put it in another ship?” Jag suggested. “The hyperdrive is what got us here. The ship shouldn’t matter.”
“Your shuttle’s hyperdrive is in even worse shape than the rest of the ship.” Kyle groaned in exasperation. “Look, we know you two want to get back home, but there’s nothing we can do.”
“There are just too many variables,” Danni said. “You’d need conditions to be exactly the same to even have a chance at success and that includes having the same ship, time, heading, speed—.”
“For all we know, you’d need to have the exact same breakfast,” Kyle added.
“And, even if it works, there’s no guarantee you’ll be sent back to your galaxy,” Danni finished. “You might yourself in a universe populated only by Yuuzhan Vong. At least here, you ran into us.”
“But—.”
“Jaina, we’re sorry. We really are,” Kyle interrupted. “We just can’t do anything. The Alchemist is a warship, and a lean one at that. You have to understand—.”
“Understand?” Jaina screamed. “All I understand is that our families are back in that galaxy! You have to find a way to send us back! You can’t expect us to just forget about all of our loved ones back there!”
“You think you’re the only person who’s lost a loved one?” Danni’s voice was so vicious that Jaina almost flinched. “There isn’t a single person on this ship who hasn’t lost someone. Anakin’s lost everyone except Tahiri, Wynssa’s lost everyone except Valin, and I… I…” Danni stopped, her voice wavering. It was only then that Jaina glanced at Danni’s stomach and spotted the slight bulge there. What the—she’s pregnant?
“You’re pregnant?” Jaina could only stare, mouth agape. “But… who’s the—.”
“Kyp, if you must know. My husband. He died three months ago,” Danni growled, letting all of her anger into her voice to cover the tears threatening to burst through her composure as she stalked towards the door. “At least someday you might see your families again. The rest of us never will.”
With that, Danni opened the door and left, leaving Jaina feeling miserable. Kyle walked over to her and Jag and placed his hand on Jaina’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jaina. I wish we could send you back. But Danni’s right; you both are the only two people in the entire galaxy who even have a chance of seeing your families again.” The Jedi master removed his hand and, after a nod from Jag, left the room.
“Mom…Dad…” Jaina murmured after the door closed behind Kyle. “Jacen… I’m never going to see them again.”
“Yes, you will,” Jag said softly, pulling his fiancé up against him and wrapping her in a warm, protective hug. “I’m not giving up on seeing Mom, Dad, and Cem again.”
“Jag, we can’t get back!” Jaina whimpered. “They won’t even know what happened to us.”
“We’ll find a way, Jaina, I promise,” Jag said.
“How?” Jaina screamed at him, tossing his empty reassurances aside. “We can’t get back! They won’t help us! We’re never going to be able to go home. We’re stuck here! We’re stuck in this screwed up, Vong-infested universe with no way of getting home!”
Jag stroked her hair softly, trying to calm her down before she started lashing out at something. Specifically him, since he was the closest target. “Do you think I like the idea of being here?”
“No,” Jaina sobbed. “But at least you have Wyn—.”
“And you have Anakin—.”
“I didn’t want to trade my entire family just to see Anakin again!” Jaina howled.
“Jaya, stop yelling,” Jag soothed. “We’ll find a way back,” After a moment, in which Jag realised how empty that reassurance was, he added, “I hope.”
Jaina looked at her fiancé, her face twisted in frustration and anger and tears welling up in her eyes. Jag looked back with his dark green eyes and handsome face, fighting back tears as well. Jaina just looked at him, hovering between crying and screaming, trying in vain to enjoy his nice, warm hold on her, until she finally just let her head drop onto his shoulder and screamed into it.
Then she let the tears out.
“We’ll be okay,” Jag said, holding her even tighter. Holding Jaina always made him feel better, no matter what the problem was. It was, at least, a way to get his mind off things. And, damn, did he need to get his mind off this. “Wyn and Kyle and Danni won’t hurt us. We’ve got all the time in the universe to think of a way to get home. Maybe we’ll just get lucky and—.”
Jaina snuggled into Jag’s shoulder. “Jag…”
“Yes?”
“Just be quiet and hold me.”
[end of chapter]
The next chapter is coming along very, very quickly. What can I say? Warmaster Artran Kharran is very fun to write.
-----signature-----
Shattered Mirror - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28487856/p1/?1 Proudly A/T and J/J Knighted by the wonderful SilSolo "Damned if I'm gonna lose to you!" "Then damned you shall be!" - my brother and I playing Smash Bros.
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Jainasolo101
Registered:
Dec '07
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Date Posted:
6/5 7:23pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 06/0
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Great job.
Is Kayti a new person? 
I like everything so far.
Till next post
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" Do or do not. There is no try."
Jagged Fel ROCKS!
I love Twilight.
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Kidan
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
6/5 7:37pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 06/0
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I'm enjoying the rewrite, can I get pm's with the updates? thanks!
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You sadistic Yank!! - McEwok No Krakana - http://nokrakana.wrighton.org Believe in the Constitution? Ron Paul '08
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Jek_Windu
Registered:
Jan '03
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Date Posted:
6/5 8:18pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 06/0
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Very realistic reaction on Jaina's part. Really enjoying this so far, I gotta say.
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Tryanids: You don't have enough bullets! Imperial Guard: YES WE DO! R.I.P. Trini
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Draconarius
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
6/5 10:29pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 06/0
- Date Edited:
6/9 8:02pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Draconarius
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Jainasolo101:
Great job.
Is Kayti a new person?
Yes, actually, but she's not going to be playing a major role. That's still reserved for Anakin, Jaina, etc.[/b]
I like everything so far.
Yay!
Till next post
Indeed.
Kidan:
I'm enjoying the rewrite, can I get pm's with the updates? thanks!
Ah! Welcome, Kidan!  ** tacks Kidan onto end of PM list**
Jek_Windu
Very realistic reaction on Jaina's part. Really enjoying this so far, I gotta say.
Thanks!
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Shattered Mirror - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28487856/p1/?1 Proudly A/T and J/J Knighted by the wonderful SilSolo "Damned if I'm gonna lose to you!" "Then damned you shall be!" - my brother and I playing Smash Bros.
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Draconarius
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
6/9 6:05am
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 06/0
- Date Edited:
7/9 1:29am (5 edits total)
Edited By:
Draconarius
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I know this was quick compared to the last few chapters, but as I've said, writing the bad guy is very fun. 
Before you read, I feel compelled to ask anyone who read the old fic to please please please not give anything away for the new readers. Thanks, my lovely readers!
Enjoy the chapter, folks!
CHAPTER FOUR: THE WARMASTER
Yuuzhan’tar, formerly Coruscant
Capital of the Yuuzhan Vong Empire
Nom Anor ascended the steps at what would pass for an almost-vertical dead run, skipping every second, sometimes even every third step in his haste to reach the landing platform at the end. The building Nom Anor was in had once been the headquarters of a galaxy-spanning transport company; the landing field at the top of the building had been used to load shuttles and light transports with anything from foodstuffs to light weapons.
Now, though, the building was little more than yet another metallic husk rapidly being absorbed into the Yuuzhan’tar landscape. The shapers’ green metallic-eating algae had almost completely worn away the building and replaced it with corridors of yorik coral. This staircase and the surrounding walls were some of the last all-metal parts of the building left, spared until now because it was holding a fair bit of the building’s weight. The priests, the more zealous shapers, and even some of the warriors wouldn’t go anywhere near them. This suited Nom Anor fine, since it let him reach the top that much quicker.
The landing field was one big, flat slab of coral, a perfect spot to land coral shuttles and transports. At the moment, there was a fleet of such vessels parked on the landing field, being loaded with troops and supplies. Shamed Ones were doing the bulk of the work, moving supplies onto the transports that would then be taken up to the Warmaster’s flagship, the Sunslayer.
The Warmaster himself was easily visible at the end of the small observation deck the staircase opened onto. To most infidels in what was left of the galaxy, the Warmaster looked like every other Yuuzhan Vong. Few infidels had seen him in person, and most of those who had were long dead, so almost no one outside the Yuuzhan Vong could recognise him in person. But to Nom Anor, the Warmaster looked all too… human. His forehead was not as sloped as perhaps it should be, and his fingers were not as slender as those of other Yuuzhan Vong. Even his hair looked human; he still had a good head of the stuff, parted scruffily and uncaringly down the middle so that it fell idly down either side of his face.
To top it all off, he had almost no ritual scarring. His lips were whole, his face unmarked by scars and implants, even his nose was still intact. In fact, the only visible scars were the twin horizontal lines just above his eyebrows that identified him as belonging to Domain Kharran. He might have had other scars across his body, but they would have been hidden beneath his signature suit of crimson vonduun crab armour. Only his left arm was fully armoured; his right was protected only by shoulder armour, leaving the rest of his arm free for his amphiblade—a custom-made, sword-like amphistaff—to curl around, its head resting comfortably on top of his hand. The suit was completed by a dark turquoise cape that stretched down Kharran’s six-metre frame to stop just above his ankles.
Behind and just to the left of the Warmaster stood his ‘bodyguard’, the woman who Nom Anor assumed was his sister. Tanyra Kharran was physically far smaller than the Warmaster, but almost as deadly nonetheless. She wore a suit of vonduun crab armour similar to Kharran’s, only blue in colour instead of red, and she also carried another amphiblade around her right harm. She also seemed to share Artran Kharran’s disturbingly human traits. She bore no scars aside from her Domain Kharran markings, her forehead and fingers looked wrong, and her long hair actually curled.
Were it not for the fact that the Kharrans enjoyed the Supreme Overlord’s favour to an extreme, Nom Anor did not doubt that their almost-human appearances would have gotten them both killed by now.
Kharran made no sign that he had even noticed Nom Anor’s approach as the executor made his way towards him. This annoyed Nom Anor, considering the importance of his news; Supreme Overlord Shimrra had summoned Warmaster Kharran to his court, and had for some reason felt that Nom Anor should do the work of a simple intendant and play the part of the simple courier.
“Warmaster Kharran!” Nom Anor called as he approached.
“Executor Nom Anor,” came Kharran’s reply. He sounded insultingly bored, and his bodyguard did not even bother to recognise Nom Anor’s presence. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Nom Anor frowned; he hated Warmaster Kharran’s sarcastic quips. It was yet another all-too-human characteristic that he and a lot of other Yuuzhan Vong despised about the Warmaster. “Supreme Overlord Shimrra wishes to see you.”
Kharran let out a slightly amused chuckle. “Really?” he asked, his voice laced with his usual sarcasm. “Why didn’t he send an intendant, or a Shamed One with a villip? You’re talents are being wasted as a courier, are they not?”
Anor’s frown deepened as he listened to the mocking tone in the Warmaster’s voice. Kharran was enjoying this. Nom Anor decided to put on his best ‘loyal servant of the Gods’ act. “I do not know,” he said. “I don’t question the Dread One when he speaks for Yun-Yuuzhan.”
This time, Kharran laughed. “Oh, please, Nom Anor. We both know you couldn’t care less about the ‘wisdom of Yun-Yuuzhan’.” The Warmaster turned to level his gaze at Nom Anor. “You and I are more practical than that.”
Nom Anor decided to take that as an excuse to drop the false pretences. “But you, Warmaster, are the only one who can escape punishment for expressing your… practicality. Don’t think I am the only one who has not noticed that the Supreme Overlord has been almost smitten with you ever since the untimely demise of his Shamed One pet.”
“Who am I to question the Dread One who speaks for Yun-Yuuzhan?” Kharran mocked, and Nom Anor saw him nod towards one of the Yuuzhan Vong overseeing the loading of the shuttles. Anor recognised the tall warrior as Sharrvon Kharran, the commander of the Sunslayer and the Warmaster’s older brother. He was imposingly large, both taller and stronger built than his younger brother, but he lacked Artran’s pure tactical skill. Sharrvon had thus stood aside for the greater good of the Yuuzhan Vong and contented himself with commanding the Sunslayer.
Which, Anor mused, was not as bad a fate as one would think. The Sunslayer was, after all, the single most recognised and single most feared ship in the galaxy. Sharrvon had already brought more than his fair share of glory and prestige to Domain Kharran while commanding it.
Artran somehow managed to communicate what he wanted to Sharrvon with only a few quick nods, and then turned and walked towards the half-coral, half-metal entrance to the stairwell.
“We should get this meeting with the Dread One started,” he said, pausing to let Nom Anor go first. “I enjoy talking privately with you, executor. It’s strangely refreshing to be able to be honest with someone.” The Warmaster shrugged as he began to descend the steps a pace behind Nom Anor with Tanyra a further step behind him. “The best part is that you cannot mention any of what I say to anyone. Who would dare believe you, considering how I enjoy the approval of the Dread One Who Speaks For The Gods.”
Nom Anor forced an insincere smile onto his face. “You will not enjoy it forever, Warmaster.”
“I know,” Kharran said with another shrug. “But I assure you, Nom Anor, you will be dead before I lose it.”
The membrane opened silently onto the Supreme Overlord’s court, allowing Artran and his two companions access inside.
The Court was filled with Yuuzhan Vong priests and warrior commanders. A priest and a priestess were both giving Shimrra a report on their success in rooting out the last remnants of the heretical Shamed Ones who had been holding up the Jedi as their new gods and hopes for salvation. It was, Artran thought, more his doing than the priests and warriors. His resounding defeat of the Jedi again and again over the past three years had done more to quash the Shamed One uprising than all of the priests on Yuuzhan’tar had done combined.
Unfortunately, the waning Jedi cult had been extremely helpful in Artran’s ascent to Warmaster, and it had continued to play its part in his plan by keeping the Yuuzhan Vong paranoid and off balance, seeing heretics and assassins every time they saw more than two Shamed Ones grouped together. It was a regrettable, but necessary loss. Artran had been forced to choose whether keeping the cult alive was more important than destroying the Jedi, and—at least for the moment—losing the cult was a minor side effect of eliminating the Jedi. Once they were gone, Artran might look at finding a way to surreptitiously restart the cult.
Well… he didn’t really need to kill all the Jedi. After all, it would be easier to restart the cult if there were a few Jedi left. Artran could settle for just Anakin Solo’s head. He was the only Jedi who absolutely had to die for Artran’s plans to succeed. The others were, for the moment, merely minor annoyances, hardly worth the effort that would be required to kill them.
Anakin Solo, on the other hand, had the potential to screw up absolutely everything.
Artran’s attention was brought back to the court—and the Supreme Overlord—when Shimrra ended the priest’s report with a wave of his hand and turned to his Warmaster. “You have arrived, Warmaster.” He turned back to the gathered priests and shapers—which, Artran noted with interest, included the master shaper Nen Yim. “I will hear the rest of your account later.”
Artran couldn’t resist letting a small smile tug at the edges of his lips as the priest bowed and backed away as if painfully chastised. Yuuzhan Vong, as disgusting as they were, could be amusingly timid in the presence of their Supreme Overlord.
“Do you know why I have summoned you, Warmaster?” Shimrra demanded.
Technically speaking, of course, Shimrra hadn’t summoned anyone; Artran had more or less summoned himself. Years of being controlled by Omini’s untrained use of the Force had left Shimrra’s mind so pathetically weak that Artran, with his more powerful and more precise control of the Force, could manipulate the Shimrra from across the planet, even from halfway across the galaxy if he could see the Supreme Overlord via a villip.
It would be laughable were it not the very reason Artran’s plans had progressed this far.
“Yun-Yuuzhan wishes me to kill more infidels,” Artran ventured.
“The infidel planet of Bakura is becoming dangerous,” Shimrra said. “Thousands of infidel warships have gathered there and most have joined the planet’s defences. The Bakurans are almost powerful enough to begin actively opposing us.”
“I am aware of all of this, Dread One.” Artran was careful to keep his voice neutrally respectful. “In fact, I have planned it.”
Even the tactically mindless priests guffawed at him for that, and some of the warrior commanders—most notably Nas Choka—went so far as to demand an explanation. Shimrra, though—being under Artran’s complete control—simply leant back in his throne and nodded for Artran to continue.
“I have purposefully left Bakura alone until now so that other infidels would go there thinking of it as a safe haven from our wrath,” Artran explained. “Most, if not all of the surviving infidels from our other victorious campaigns have already fled to Bakura, where we can destroy all of them with a single strike instead of wasting years tracking them down. I will be leaving for Bakura as soon as the Sunslayer is prepared.”
“And what of the Alchemist?” Shimrra asked—and out of his own accord, since Artran no longer needed to control him directly. The numerous lingering Force-suggestions Artran had left in his mind would keep him in line for weeks.
“Unless the shapers have found a way to detect it, I am still unable to do anything.” Artran cast a glance towards Nen Yim. “Have you and your shapers achieved anything, Nen Yim?”
The master shaper’s headdress tentacles twitched in annoyance. “We have not even discovered how the infidels are evading detection. There is little that can be done.”
“Then have you at least found a way to counter their cognition disruptors?” Artran demanded, and took her lack of a reply as a resounding No. “The efficiency of my fleets has been reduced by almost half since the Alchemist spread that weapon amongst the infidels. In fact…” Artran turned back to Shimrra. “The existence—and obvious effectiveness—of that weapon has forced me to reconsider my attack plan for Bakura. I will need to fight the infidels with numbers at least equal to their own.”
“That would require a quarter of our entire warrior force!” Nas Choka cried.
“It would be best to outnumber them at least two to one,” Artran said, piercing Choka with his gaze. “That, Nas Choka, will require a full half of our total combat force.” The Warmaster turned back to the Supreme Overlord. “It will leave the rest of our empire undermanned, but once Bakura is gone we can redeploy the fleets, replenish our forces, and focus on tracking down the Alchemist and the Magician. They will be the only infidels left by then.”
Shimrra seemed to comprehend the matter for a moment—the other Yuuzhan Vong probably assumed he was communing with the gods, or something equally ridiculous—and then nodded his approval. “Your plan is sound, and will have the blessing of the gods. We shall organize sacrifices to ensure your victory.”
Artran would have preferred to skip the sacrifices—they were little more than an exercise in the epitome of Yuuzhan Vong depravity—but he knew that there some things not even he could get away with, and openly defying such deeply ingrained traditions was one such thing.
“I would like to have Nom Anor accompany me to Bakura once the sacrifices are complete,” Artran announced. “He can infiltrate Bakura and ascertain if there is anything worth securing before we destroy it.” Artran cast a quick look towards Nen Yim. “You could always use another Jeedai to shape.”
Nen Yim’s tentacles twitched again, but she said nothing.
“Then take him and prepare our forces,” Shimrra commanded. Artran bowed out of tradition, not respect, and then backed away from the Supreme Overlord until he was sure the other Yuuzhan Vong would not object to him turning and showing Shimrra his back. Those that did feel it was improper—and Artran could sense a few—kept their silence after Shimrra paid Artran no heed, instead returning to the priests and their efforts against the Shamed One cult.
Tanyra fell into step behind Artran as he left the Supreme Overlord’s court and began the hour-long trek back to the landing field and the coralskippers they would use to return to the Sunslayer.
“That was easy,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Dealing with Shimrra always is, especially since you dealt with Omini,” he replied just as quietly. “I don’t think I ever really thanked you for that.”
“It’s as much my plan as yours,” she pointed out. “Just one more task to accomplish.”
“And you accomplished it beautifully.” Artran stroked her curly hair off her shoulders, and was contemplating something far more intimate when Nom Anor’s voice pierced the otherwise empty corridor they were in.
“Warmaster Kharran, why did you insist on bringing me to Bakura?” he demanded.
Artran sent Tanyra on without him so he could deal with the executor. She gave him a look which wordlessly stressed that he needed to do so without violence before she left.
“You heard my reasons in the Supreme Overlord’s court. I think you might be of use. But, if you don’t want to come, executor, by all means stay behind.” Artran walked away and left the executor fuming, and he couldn’t resist throwing a last sarcastic remark over his shoulder. “After all, the Supreme Overlord would be so understanding when he asks you to explain your defiance.”
Artran finally caught up with Tanyra at the landing field, which was all but deserted once he finally arrived. Tanyra was waiting beside their coralskippers, vehicles which were larger, faster, and more deadly than the original, not to mention more aesthetically pleasing. The cockpit was at the back, blended into the main part of the hull and flanked on either side by a pair of magma cannons. The guns were backed up by two more cannons on the coralskipper’s belly. Both ships tapered into a needlepoint nose, with a powerful quartet of dovin basals arrayed around it about halfway down its length, supplemented by two smaller basals on the aft.
Artran believed the ships to be too Yuuzhan Vong for him to ever truly like, but they had served and would continue to serve their purpose, just like the entire Yuuzhan Vong race. Kharran would be able to get rid of them all, eventually.
Tanyra was leaning against the side of her coralskipper—the one whose coral hull was closer to black than red—and she actually smiled when she saw Artran approaching.
“I thought Nom Anor was doing a very good job of holding you up,” she said. “What took you so long?”
“I walked slowly,” he replied with a shrug. The truth was that he had been distracted for most of the trip, and had actually managed to take a wrong turn at one stage. “Have you sensed something strange in the Force recently?”
“Not really,” she replied. “In fact, I haven’t been able to sense much at all since Vergere escaped us and joined the Alchemist. She’s probably taught them all how to become small in the Force by now.”
“That’s odd,” Artran said. He was tempted to deactivate both of their holo-shrouds so they wouldn’t have to tolerate the disgusting Yuuzhan Vong visages they were forced to wear, but he decided against it. “I think I can sense one of the Jedi again.”
Tanyra closed her eyes, and Artran felt her reaching into the Force. “I… can’t… sense…” she murmured. “No, wait, there it is. Hmm… feels familiar.”
“I know,” Artran agreed. “It has to be a new one, but… she feels too strong and too well trained to be a new recruit.”
“She?” Tanyra repeated. “How do you know it’s a female?”
“What makes you think it’s a male?”
“Nothing,” she confessed. “You just sounded very certain, that’s all.”
“I’m not,” Artran lied. He actually was certain it was a female; he just had no idea why.
It would certainly end up having something to do with Anakin Solo, though. Of that he was certain.
“Listen, Artran,” Tanyra began suddenly, snapping Artran out of his momentary trance. “You can’t touch me like you did back in the citadel in public. If someone other than that idiot Nom Anor had seen you do that…”
“It doesn’t matter, Tanyra.”
“Yes, Artran, it does,” she replied. “If these…” she looked around to make sure no one else was in earshot. “Scarheads turn on you—on us before we can get everything together, the whole plan will go up in smoke. You really want to risk that for a little touch?”
The edge of Artran’s mouth twitched upwards. “I’d take any excuse to touch you, Tanyra.”
She shook her head in dismay, but Artran saw her mouth curl into a smile as well. “You’re more like him than you care to admit.”
Had anyone eels said that to Artran, it would have earned them an instant death sentence. Tanyra, though, got only a very brief frown, which was about to turn into a warm smile when they were interrupted.
“Warmaster Kharran!” Nen Yim called as she stepped out onto the landing platform.
Artran and Tanyra exchanged brief glances, and she climbed up the side of her coralskipper and dropped into the waiting cockpit and left Artran alone with the shaper.
The shaper’s hideous scarring—especially the empty hole in her face where her nose should have been—made Artran’s stomach turn, a disturbing sensation his amphiblade mistook for his danger sense. The coiled weapon tensed and slid a centimetre further atop Artran’s hand, ready to kill at a moment’s notice.
Nen Yim saw it preparing to attack and stopped. “Are you going to kill me, Warmaster?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Artran replied truthfully, though he had to admit it was hard to resist the urge. Disgusting creatures, he thought. “What is it, Nen Yim? Must be important to keep you from your work for Shimrra.”
“Of course. It is very important, Warmaster Kharran,” she replied. “Or should I call you—?”
“Silence!” Artran’s amphiblade slid up his arm and formed a half-metre punching dagger atop his hand as Artran’s arm hurtled forward. The blade stopped a centimetre from Nen Yim’s startled face.
The shaper tried to keep a brave face, but her fear slipped into her voice. “I see I am right.”
Artran forced himself to breathe calmingly; killing a master shaper for almost no reason was something not even he could get away with, especially when the shaper was as close to Shimrra and as important to the war effort as Nen Yim was.
Instead, waving Tanyra back into her coralskipper, he said, “How did you find out about that?”
“I’ve always known about it,” she replied. “Do you really think that I would not have been at least consulted on such an audacious shaping project? Considering my experience with the first Jeedai shaping experiment, I was surprised not to be summoned to help.” Artran’s blade moved another centimetre closer to the hole in her face where her nose should have been, prompting her to continue. “I only figured it out after your rapid ascension following Omini’s death. You’re controlling the Dread One with the Jeedai’s abilities, aren’t you?”
“And if I am, Shaper? There’s not much you can do,” Artran pointed out. “Why would you even want to do anything? Omini was controlling Shimrra before me, and I can guarantee that our dear Supreme Overlord was left quite crazy. If not for me, Master Shaper, we would have lost this war by now.”
“Yes. Yes, I know that,” the shaper bowed respectfully and backed away. “I merely wished to be certain that our failures with the last two shaped Jeedai would not be repeated.”
I was not shaped, you ignorant scarhead! Artran howled inside his head, but aloud he said, “The only reason you failed with Tahiri Veila is that the priests stopped you from finishing the job, and Jacen Solo worked perfectly. He failed, not you.” His amphiblade retracted down his arm as he forced himself to relax. “Now be gone, and don’t ever speak to me about this again. I will kill you the next time.”
Nen Yim seemed to take him seriously, and she left to return to her work on the latest weapons developed by the admittedly resourceful crew of the Alchemist. She left Artran in a decidedly foul mood, one that very nearly made him snap at Tanyra when he turned to see she had disobeyed him and stayed perched on the edge of her coralskipper’s cockpit as he and Nen Yim had talked.
“She could be a problem,” Tanyra pointed out as Artran climbed atop his own vehicle.
“Could be? Yes. Will be? Probably not,” Artran said as he climbed atop his own vehicle. “She really thinks that we’re fighting out of loyalty to the Vong and their gods.”
Tanyra laughed, and their next line was in said in comical unison that amused even Artran.
“Absolutely not.”
[end of chapter]
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Shattered Mirror - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28487856/p1/?1 Proudly A/T and J/J Knighted by the wonderful SilSolo "Damned if I'm gonna lose to you!" "Then damned you shall be!" - my brother and I playing Smash Bros.
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Kidan
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
Jul '03
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Date Posted:
6/9 8:25am
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 09/0
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ah, the bad guys are as fun to read about as ever. Great job!
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You sadistic Yank!! - McEwok No Krakana - http://nokrakana.wrighton.org Believe in the Constitution? Ron Paul '08
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Jainasolo101
Registered:
Dec '07
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Date Posted:
6/9 9:46am
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 09/0
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Cool!
I actually like reading about the bad guys.
Great so far
I can't wait for the next post!
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" Do or do not. There is no try."
Jagged Fel ROCKS!
I love Twilight.
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Draconarius
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
6/10 7:41pm
Subject:
RE: Shattered Mirror (Post-NJO AU; A/T, J/J, Valin/Wynssa, Kyle Katarn, Danni, OCs) **CHAP 4 UP 09/0
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