Beyond - Legends Lost Brethren I: Knightfall (AU Star by Star and after) Updated 4/1

Lost Brethren I: Knightfall





My story is the same as the actual NJO all

the way until immediatly before the strike

team, led by Anakin Solo, is sent to Myrkyr.

The story picks up when they are on Lando's

ship, heading deep into enemy lines.........





First post later today. The book will concentrate mostly on the solo siblings but also on the war around them.

My past work......

Book 1 in the return of anakin solo series...look at it!

A Hero's Beckoning I: Return

Book 2 in the return of anakin solo series...look at it also.

A Hero's Beckoning II: From Within

The third and final book in the Return of Anakin Solo series. Read it!

A Hero's Beckoning III: The Galactic Solstice


My Vigenette on the death of Anakin Solo

A Fallen Hero


My thoughtful and really neat vigenette on anakin solo and critical desicions, how the yuuzhan vong got here and all, you have to read it to understand it.

One Blow and it's over...an Anakin Solo vigenette

 

Chapter 1

Anakin Solo spooned some green thakalito into his mouth, dryly savoring the tasty soup. He looked up around him at the other members of the strike team ? his brother, Jacen, nervously thinking about the dark side, his sister, Jaina, with an air of cool detachment, Raynar Thul, Ganner Rhysode, Tahiri, Telki, Ulaha, Alema Rar, Elusa and Lowbacca.

Nearly an hour ago, they?d felt the ship land, and they?d heard Lando lower the boarding ramp, heading out to meet the Yuuzhan Vong picket ship they had no doubt encountered. Tenel Ka and the Barabels had left in an escape pod back to Eclipse, because Anakin had said they needed smaller numbers to succeed. The strike team had been shocked, but had supported his decision with much calming from Jacen through the battle meld.

They could faintly hear arguing voices, constantly bargaining for the past hour. That was when it happened.

The strike team could faintly hear Lando?s voice rapidly rise?and then he signaled the alarm. There was a loud explosion outside, and a blaring ring started to go on the inside.

Anakin stood up with the rest of the Jedi Knights, lightsabers ignited, and sprinted towards the hatchway. Jaina arrived there first, and nearly ran headlong into a Yuuzhan Vong warrior.

Instead of panicking, she spun to the left as she reversed her lightsaber, stabbing through his back. The warrior fell without a sound. Jaina moved ahead, and down the ramp, ahead of the others.

A sea of thud bugs headed their way, hissing through the air. The sound of over a dozen lightsabers swinging cackled through the cold night sky. Anakin couldn?t tell what planet they were on, but he guessed it was a moon.

Anakin soon spotted Lando, hidden behind a large boulder, throwing thermal detonators over it randomly. He looked terrible, his face was covered in blood, and he held his hand over his stomach. Anakin stood in front of him to give him cover.

?What happened!?? Anakin yelled.

They said you weren?t real Jedi! They said that real Jedi would?ve attacked them by now!? Lando yelled back. ?So they tried to kill me!?

Anakin concentrated on batting away the swarm of thud bugs coming his direction, and silently cursed Lando. The mission was over now. It they even escaped this fiasco alive, they would have to get back as soon as possible. Lando was badly injured, and needed to be tended to.

A fresh group of Yuuzhan Vong warriors charged out of the ship, and three of them headed towards Anakin.

?Stay down,? Anakin told Lando, and charged forward to meet them.


The strike team?s confidence had been heavily shaken when Lowbacca and Telki both fell. Jacen had seen it, tried to help them, had to try, but couldn?t. Lowbacca dove in front of an amphistaff that was about to bisect Telki from behind. The amphistaff drove through Lowbacca?s heart, killing him nearly instantly. Telki, unaware of what was happening, was showered with thud bugs from behind, and by time Jacen had gotten to her, she was dead.

Jacen now held off two warriors at once with his right hand, while shooting warriors with his blaster in his right hand. He ducked under a two blows, and the two amphistaffs collided with each other, wrenching themselves from their masters? grip. Jacen gave them each a flick to the throat, and they were down, and he was taking on the next batch. He shot two warriors in the armpit with his blaster, then heard the alarm of an empty cylinder. He used the Force to propel the useless blaster at a nearby warriors head, sending him spiraling into Tahiri?s lightsaber. Jacen turned as several thud bugs headed his way.

He stuck out his hand and used the Force to reverse the path of the bugs. They were sent screeching back at their throwers, who where bisected at least a dozen times by the bugs. The battle raged on, and all Jacen Solo could do was fight. This is why I told Uncle Luke I?m not made to be a Jedi. He thought to himself.




Jaina had watched Ulaha die, side by side with Raynar Thul and Jovan Drark. The numbers were just

 

Chapter 2



Anakin Solo leaps into the air.

He took in everything the moment he left the ground ? how hard the dirt was, how many warriors there were with their attention towards him, where his comrades were in relation to him, how many thud bugs were heading towards him. He took all of this in, and then acted on it.
See, and act.

Two thud bugs sliced straight for his eyes, and he saw them coming all too early. Spinning in the air, he sliced both of them, and then used his feet to kick away a thrown amphistaff. He landed solidly, and headed towards the nearest warrior, lightsaber spinning. He cut open the first near the neck, then gave the next two quick jabs at the armpit, kicking him away. The third dove at him, and he ducked and rolled out of the way. With a quick glance back he saw that the warrior had been upended by Jaina?s lightsaber.

He sprinted up the boarding ramp and into the ship, Tahiri on his left, his twin siblings immediately behind him, and Alema Rar bringing up the back. Anakin felt Jacen bringing the battle meld together.

Anakin made a sharp left at the top of the ramp, and headed quickly down a long hallway. He was halfway down the hall when a boot kicked out and caught him in the stomach with a breath-taking whoosh. Anakin stumbled and the boot kicked him in the back of his head. Looking up, he was just in time to see Tahiri block the potentially fatal blow, and then have Jacen pierce the warrior behind the neck. He collapsed in a heap.

Anakin leapt up, and started to head down the hall again.

?No, Anakin, wait!? Tahiri said.

He spun. ?What??

?Alema is holding off about half a dozen warriors and a voxyn from our back. Jaina?s going to help her,? Jacen told him.

?Yes? And?? Anakin asked.

?What do we do?? Tahiri wanted to know.

Anakin closed his eyes, and then snapped them open again an instant later.

?They?ll be fine,? he said, patiently. ?If they?re in trouble, we?ll know.?

Jacen sighed, Tahiri nodded, and Anakin started running down the hall again, lightsaber re-ignited.




Jaina sprinted back down the hall when she realized Alema wasn?t right behind them anymore. She ran to the opening of the ramp again, and saw Alema, twisting and twirling among Yuuzhan Vong warriors, lightsaber blazing. A voxyn was there as well, but it sat outside the inferno, swiping a paw every once and a while, too afraid of hurting the warriors to actually attack Alema.

Jaina hurled her lightsaber at the voxyn. It gave a sonic screech as the lightsaber went straight through it?s skull. Somehow, it still writhed on the floor. Jaina called her lightsaber to her and finished the voxyn with a quick downwards stroke, then spun and caught an incoming warrior on the jaw with the heel of her boot.

Another warrior came, this one small and lithe, unlike most. Jaina sliced at his head with her lightsaber. He ducked, then rolled and grabbed her ankle, twisting it and yanking her to the ground. Jaina did a backflip, and used the Force to nudge Alema?s mind.

Let?s go.

Alema leapt to Jaina?s side almost immediately, and they began to fight the warriors while jogging backwards. Jaina pulled out a thermal detonator, set if for 3 seconds, and dropped it. She used the Force to speed her further down the hall, and Alema followed suit. They heard the muffled blast, and a shout, and without a glance around, they continued down the hall.

?Where are they?? Jaina said as they neared the end of the hall.

Alema shrugged. ?Reach out to them in the Force, you should be able to sense them, they?re your brothers.?

Jaina concentrated, and then frowned. ?That?s the thing, though. I can?t sense them.?




Jacen sprinted down the hall, struggling to keep up with even Tahiri. Anakin had pulled a good five meters ahead of the two of them, and Tahiri kept up pretty well, running easily. Although Jacen was in excellent shape, he was shocked at how much better shape Anakin and Tahiri were in. Finally, they reached the end of the hall. It had to be

 

Chapter 3

?Their not dead,? Jaina said. ?I know that much for sure. We would?ve felt it. But I can?t sense them.?

Alema considered this. ?Try Anakin?s comlink. He?s kept it on since we got here, I think.?

Jaina frowned. Very rarely was she cut off from both of her brothers at the same time. It could be me, she thought. Maybe my senses are just a bit off. But even as she thought this she realized how unlikely it was. Something had happened to her brothers and Tahiri. She pulled out her comlink.

?Anakin? Anakin, are you there??

No response.

?Anakin, are you there??

The comlink beeped loudly, and Jaina almost dropped it in surprise. Then Anakin?s deadly calm voice floated over the comlink.

?I?m here, Jaina,? he said.

There was something in his tone of voice that she didn?t like very much. He sounded far-off, concentrating tightly on something elsewhere. ?You okay?? she asked. ?What?s going on??

There was no response, and Jaina frowned again. ?Let?s go,? she said to Alema, and they took off down the corridor.



Anakin pulled out his blaster and leveled it at the first warrior in front. ?These odds aren?t fair,? Anakin said. ?We?ll kill you in seconds.? Anakin was hoping the warriors didn?t know of the ysalimari?s power, which they probably did.

?Surrender or we will kill you. Either is fine with us, infidels,? the lead warrior snarled.

Anakin sighed. These creatures would never see reason. ?Very well then,? Anakin motioned with his blaster to Jacen and Tahiri. ?Capture them.?

At the word capture, the lead warrior flinched, and turned to the warrior behind him. This is what Anakin had been waiting for. He dove at the warrior closest to him, ignited his lightsaber as he flew. The molten-hot blade disintegrated the warriors weak neck armor, and he fell to the ground. Anakin then de-activated his lightsaber and threw it at the next warrior. It bounced off his skull, sending him unconscious.

Moving lighting quick for one without the Force, Anakin grabbed the ankles of the other two warriors and tackled them, clearing the doorway. As Anakin fell, the other two warrior fell on top of him, and he winced as he heard a resounding crunch in his ribcage. Anakin swung his fist, but the warrior caught it and squeezed, and Anakin felt like his hand was going to break.

?Go!? he screamed to Jacen and Tahiri, who didn?t know what to do, standing over Anakin and the two warriors as they wrestled. ?They?ll bring reinforcements. Don?t let them get in!?

When he saw they weren?t going to leave, he yelled again, ?I?m in charge here. Go! Now!?

Any further words he may have said were cut off when a thick hand wrapped around his throat. He tried to pull it off, but his hands were pinned to his sides.

?Goodnight, jeedai,? one warrior sneered as he raised a fist and smashed it between Anakin?s eyes.

Somehow, Anakin didn?t even grunt. And he didn?t fall unconscious, either. It took three more blows before his arms finally began to sag and stop resisting. It took two more to get him to shut his eyes, but another was required when he made a furious attempt to get free again. Cut off from the Force, his power was greatly diminished. Anakin coughed and lapsed into unconsciousness.


Jacen and Tahiri darted out of the small room and into the hallway. They still couldn?t feel the Force. They heard the pound of feet coming, but Jacen motioned for them to go into the room down the hall. ?It?s shapers,? he whispered to her once they were inside the tiny, dark room. ?They?re not after Anakin.?

As they sat there in the dark, Jacen realized Tahiri was shivering, probably with cold, for it was freezing in the ship, and for fear of Anakin. Jacen put a tentative arm around her shoulder. ?He?ll be fine,? Jacen said as he drew her closer. ?I won?t let anything happen to him. I promise.?

Tahiri didn?t respond, she just kept shivering. Jacen took off his heavy cloak, which he wore over a thick tunic, and placed the cloak over Tahiri. She mumbled her thanks, and she wrapped her arm

 

Chapter 5

Sometime later, Anakin Solo woke up.

He took in his surroundings briefly. He was in a new prison chamber, and definitely not aboard the same ship anymore. His mouth felt terrible, but other than that he was fine. Glancing over at the large window to his right, he saw a lone Yuuzhan Vong guard staring at him.

Anakin yawned and sat up. He noticed the warrior give a jolt as he rose. Anakin walked over to the window.

?Hello,? he said to the warrior.

The warrior grunted a response.

Anakin chuckled, and leaned his elbows on the wide sill. ?So, how much do Vong warrior guards get paid, eh? Ten credits for the hour??

The warrior was indifferent.

?That?s not too good, you know,? Anakin said. ?My friend Coli, she?s only an assistant guard and she is paid forty credits every hour. And she?s not even that good at it. She only guards at little prisons, no big ones.?

The warrior grunted, and looked like he was getting annoyed. Anakin continued.

?See, if I were you, I?d be a bit pissed off. I mean, only ten credits an hour? Imagine that, an underpaid Yuuzhan Vong guard.?

A smile crept onto Anakin?s face as the warrior turned towards Anakin. He still didn?t say anything, but wore an ugly scowl.

?So let me get this straight,? Anakin said. ?You are paid ten credits an hour to make sure a tortured prisoner doesn?t escape or anything. Keep things under control, right??

The warrior barely contained his rage.

?I wonder how much Yuuzhan Vong credits are worth. Probably less than Republic credits. All Yuuzhan Vong things are less than Republic things.?

The warrior stood up, and walked to the window sill. ?When you die,? he snarled, ?The galaxy will be a better place. Each time one of your sniveling friends die, the galaxy is a better place. You are unworthy. I would kill you now if I didn?t have direct orders otherwise.?

Anakin smiled broadly. ?Not aloud to kill me, eh? Well, you may not be aloud to kill me, but surely a little torture wouldn?t hurt? I mean, how mad could Mr. Carr get if you just twisted my neck a little?? Anakin pointed at a button on the reverse side of the window and moved his head to lean against the glass. ?Go ahead. Hit me. Take out your anger. You know you want to.?

The warrior didn?t move. Anakin didn?t move. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Anakin tensed.

The warrior grinned, and pulled out his coufee, pressed the button, and stabbed Anakin in the head.

Anakin put his hand up and let the coufee blade go between his fingers until the hilt hit his hand. Then he grabbed it with his two fingers and flung it at the warrior. It hit him between the eyes.

Anakin climbed out of the window and to freedom.

First task: find his lightsaber.



?She?s a beast, for being the smallest of them. That?s why she?s by herself.?

?I could crush her with my pinky, she is so puny. What are you getting at??

?I?m saying it?s dangerous to hold her with-?

The tall Yuuzhan Vongwarrior?s last sentence was cut off by the rasping of the other warrior.

?You okay?? the tall warrior asked him. The air did smell a bit funny, but he hadn?t felt it yet. Then he began to choke as well.

They both started coughing uncontrollably, until they couldn?t breathe. They both made frantic gestures towards the door, to safety. The tall warrior stumbled and fell, and the other joined him shortly thereafter on the floor. They were unconscious.

There was a jinkle, and soon Tahiri Veila was free. She stepped over the warrior?s bodies as she left the room, grabbing her lightsaber.

?Still think I?m puny?? Tahiri yelled, her outrage uncontained. The tall warrior grumbled and began to stir.

After that he stirred no more.



Tahiri raced down the corridor, her lightsaber ignited. She?d been worried about escaping, but it had been relatively easy. Now she had to release the other Jedi. The problem was, she had no idea where they were.

She turned a sharp corner and ran headlong into a pile of feathers and dust. She fell, but

 

Chapter 6



There was no time to even plan an escape, Jaina thought regretfully. They took us within an hour after we were relocated.

Jaina remembered it very clearly. The Vong warriors had tossed Jacen and Jaina into the same cell together. Jaina had slept, on Jacen?s urging that she needed sleep, while Jacen kept watch over everything. Jacen had begun to doze off himself when the warriors had barged in on them and taken them out of the cell, into a huge procession of warriors, priests and shapers. He?d been very confused until a very familiar, disgusting figure had appeared at their side as they walked.

It was Nom Anor.

He?d told them that they were being taken to the twin sacrifice, and how it as all his doing, and that they?d die an honorable, warriors death. Jaina had spat on him, but her brother had merely given him a look that spoke volumes more than any words could. The look quite simply said: You better hope I die. No more needed to be exchanged between the two.

They were being taken to some makeshift alter, apparently, according to Nom Anor. Tsavong Lah was waiting there, where he would present instructions to the Solo?s on how the ceremony would work. So they had continued walking, Nom Anor at their side, surrounded by hundreds of Yuuzhan Vong that were hungry for a twin sacrifice, which had not happened for quite some time in Yuuzhan Vong culture.

Jaina was furious. It wouldn?t be so bad, she thought, if they just killed us. But for some reason the whole sacrifice thing had gotten under her skin, so by the time she and Jacen were contacted by Tahiri, Jaina was ready to kill anything that disturbed her.

It was just a gentle ripple in the Force, coming from Tahiri, and Jacen and Jaina simultaneously located its source as they snapped their heads up above them. They only caught a flint of blonde hair, but it was enough to assure them that it was indeed Tahiri. Jaina sent to her images that roughly translated as ?twin sacrifice? and she could tell by her sense of Tahiri in the Force that she understood. She could also tell they were planning a rescue.
No!!! Jacen and Jaina sent back to her harshly. Kill the queen, Jaina added on. And she meant it. When she thought of all the people dead on the mission already, they had better at least complete the mission. Anakin, she thought. Why?

Tahiri seemed to refuse to accept it, but another presence ? it must have been Alema - somehow managed to calm her down. Jaina could feel Tahiri?s sobs through the Force, and Alema?s anguish at being the one that had to come to terms with the facts. We love you, Jacen sent to them as they faded off.
Soon, they reached a street with a high archway, and a small platform directly beneath it. All the Yuuzhan Vong had stopped marching and were filing off to the side, creating an aisle for Nom Anor, who was leading Jacen and Jaina immediately behind him. It was a long march, but when they finally reached Tsavong Lah, Jaina found herself wishing they were still walking.

?Jeedai! I present you an offer that no one else can! You will be sacrificed in the Great Twin Sacrifice, as decreed by Yun-Yaamka himself, and you will die a noble warriors death. Do not struggle, and no Jeedai tricks, or else we kill your friends.? Tsavong Lah?s voice boomed across the assembled crowd. ?My friends, witness the event of the millennia as the true glory of the Yuuzhan Vong is shown!? The warmaster made a movement with his arm, and several warriors hustled Jacen and Jaina onto the platform, where they were turned to face the roaring crowd of hundreds upon hundreds of Yuuzhan Vong. The site would have been overwhelming to most.

Jaina almost laughed at the idea of Tahiri rescuing them, charging ahead brashly, being killed in seconds, with a reluctant Alema Rarr following shortly thereafter. There would have been no chance. Jaina turned to her brother to get one more look at the one person she trusted and endeared beyond all others. Her brother?s eyes glowed with an intensity a