Beyond - Legends THE LIVING FORCE (NJO: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, H/L, L/M, Kyp, more) Completed 1/7/05!

that's in the next chapter! Right after "Onimi the one-toothed Shamed One" and "Deck Nom Anor"

Yay!

Or how about "All I Want for Christmas is My One Front Fang" or "Joy to the Gods?"

Can't you just pay your younger sister/brother to do it?

Sounds like my older sister whenever her homework involves researching on the internet. Only she doesn't pay me, and I still do it.

 

Alpha

Of course I have a point.
I forget who said this, but they were right: "A war waged by commitee is one already lost."

Yes, but Shimrra is a god like king of the YV who was a warrior. There really isn't a beauracracy. Shimrra barks orders, and Nas Choka follows them


DarkDroid

Great chapter!

Thanks

The snow was a real twist.

Yes, I'm sure it was a disappointing one though

I finally finished Revolution too. Great story (spine-tingling too... )! Now I have to go read The Eighth Cortex.

Wow, that's cool Thanks, I hope you enjoy 8th cortex, it's quite a bit longer.



FamousAmos

Agreed. It was a tragedy second only to SBS

As the hard covers went, damn skippy

I know your chapters are long, but how long can they take to type? Can't you just pay your younger sister/brother to do it?

They dont take that long, but its kind of hard to find the time right now As far as your suggestion, I'm estranged from my brother, and If I let my little sister type this, it would be absolutely unreadable. She types things spellcheck can't even make sense of. She would never have graduated High School without me


Whitey

Sounds like my older sister whenever her homework involves researching on the internet. Only she doesn't pay me, and I still do it.

aww poor little Whitey

Yay!
Or how about "All I Want for Christmas is My One Front Fang" or "Joy to the Gods?"

Well, you asked for it:

Onimi the One-Toothed Shamed One (to the tune of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer)

Onimi the one-toothed Shamed One
Had a very yellow fang
And if you ever saw him
You would think that he's insane

All of the other Scarheads
Use to laugh and called him names
They never let Onimi
Join in the Embrace of Pain

Then one gloomy battle eve
Shimrra came to say:
"Onimi, you're sure to repulse
Come to my court and rhyme insults!"

Then all the Scarheads hated him
And they shouted vehemently
"Onimi the one-toothed Shamed One
Gollum wants his royalties!"

Gollum wants his royaltieeeeeeeeees!



I just spent the last 15 minutes writing that, so I hope you like it!!!

 

Brilliant!

 

That song was awesome

As the hard covers went, damn skippy

As the series went, too The only other books in the series that come close to them in are FH 2 & 3

And since I've only recently finished TFP, I'll add that it was a tough read, but not quite as bad as SBS or DW. The battle scenes(with Wedge and co.) are well written and extremely enjoyable. The whole Zonama Sekot part(and anything with Tahiri in that book) made me want to gouge my eyes out. Del Rey should be cursed forever for what they did to her(even if she is just a fictional character )

 

Yes, but Shimrra is a god like king of the YV who was a warrior. There really isn't a beauracracy. Shimrra barks orders, and Nas Choka follows them

A commitee of two is still a commitee

 

Gotta agree with Whitey: Bloody Brilliant song. lol

 

The White One: Thanks

Amos:That song was awesome



As the series went, too The only other books in the series that come close to them in are FH 2 & 3

The FH books were surprisingly fast reads for as bad as they were

And since I've only recently finished TFP, I'll add that it was a tough read, but not quite as bad as SBS or DW. The battle scenes(with Wedge and co.) are well written and extremely enjoyable. The whole Zonama Sekot part(and anything with Tahiri in that book) made me want to gouge my eyes out. Del Rey should be cursed forever for what they did to her(even if she is just a fictional character )

Nah, TFP wasn't bad by any means. Not a lot happened, and yeah, I'm not a fan of the "new" Tahiri.

Alpha: A commitee of two is still a commitee

true enough.

JOD: Gotta agree with Whitey: Bloody Brilliant song. lol

Thanks I'm glad you liked it!

 

SNOW! SWWEEETTTTT!!!!!! Great post, though I want you to resolve the A/T issues...very soon....Or I will unleash my Ninja Gaiden Styles on you! *sneaks around the thread*

 

The FH books were surprisingly fast reads for as bad as they were

Yeah, but so was SBS



Nah, TFP wasn't bad by any means. Not a lot happened, and yeah, I'm not a fan of the "new" Tahiri.

The writing itself wasn't bad. You know I like Greg Keyes. Like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed the Bilbringi battle. But the Zonama Sekot mission(you know what I'm talkin' about ) just sucked. It wasn't the writing that was bad, its just that the new Tahiri was painful. The entire idea of Zonama Sekot sucks. Its just ridiculous. I still don't understand why it was the solution to the war(as the covers to the later NJO books assure us it is). I'm just frustrated, I guess.

I'm waiting for TUF to come out in paperback(or for the library to get a copy) before I read it. To tell you the truth, I'm really not looking forward to it. I'm sure it'll be a big let down- I'm really not sure why I'm gonna read it in the first place.

 

**Falls over laughing**

That was great!!!!!

 

Swift_Wrath_SAB:SNOW! SWWEEETTTTT!!!!!! Great post, though I want you to resolve the A/T issues...very soon....Or I will unleash my Ninja Gaiden Styles on you! *sneaks around the thread*

Thanks I haven't played the new Ninja Gaiden yet I'm so behind on my video games, I've got 6 still in plastic that I've bought the last few months and haven't even opened yet.

As far as A/T, try not to get too impatient



AmosYeah, but so was SBS

yeah, I guess.

The writing itself wasn't bad. You know I like Greg Keyes. Like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed the Bilbringi battle. But the Zonama Sekot mission(you know what I'm talkin' about ) just sucked. It wasn't the writing that was bad, its just that the new Tahiri was painful. The entire idea of Zonama Sekot sucks. Its just ridiculous. I still don't understand why it was the solution to the war(as the covers to the later NJO books assure us it is). I'm just frustrated, I guess.

I was the exact opposite! I thought the bilbringi stuff was boring for the most part, but I always think the space battles are boring if they don't do something different everytime. The stuff with Jaina on that defense station was alright. I liked the Sekot stuff, with Nom Anor's treachery, and the Vong interacting with the planet. I just wished there had been more of it.

I'm waiting for TUF to come out in paperback(or for the library to get a copy) before I read it. To tell you the truth, I'm really not looking forward to it. I'm sure it'll be a big let down- I'm really not sure why I'm gonna read it in the first place

You can probably find TUF dirt cheap on Amazon or ebay now. It's better than I expected it would be (Overlooking the obvious disappointment of Anakin not coming back), but yeah, some of the explainations are disappointing.


TS: **Falls over laughing**
That was great!!!!!

Thanks

 

post tuesday or wednesday

 

YK: good point

Aye - and...?

Thanks Shimrra definitely has his reasons for bringing Nom Anor closer when he's clearly not qualified to be there you'll see soon.

And has Shimrra perhaps underestimated Nom Anor in any way?

I know a lot of YV, so it's easy to write

Heh!

I think there were parallels there to begin with, in the way that they reacted differently to similar situations. But which one are you refering to?

I'm not entirely sure... perhaps something to do with the fact that they were both being shaped in parallel projects with a similar aim - Jacen, by making a Yuuzhan Vong out of a Jeedai; Anakin, by making a Jedi into a Yuuzhan Vong...



Sorry - I should have said "Happy Fete Week"!

- The Imperial Ewok

 

The White One

It only just dawned on me that you were referring to me.

 

Thrawn: Aye - and...?

And I can't seem to find the energy to argue with people on the lit boards anymore I'll get back to it soon though, just like I'll read Survivor's quest soon

And has Shimrra perhaps underestimated Nom Anor in any way?

You'll have to wait and see, but I think by now Shimrra knows exactly what Nom Anor is all about.

I'm not entirely sure... perhaps something to do with the fact that they were both being shaped in parallel projects with a similar aim - Jacen, by making a Yuuzhan Vong out of a Jeedai; Anakin, by making a Jedi into a Yuuzhan Vong...

I see what you mean. When I was writing revolution I was thinking about it a lot as Anakin's version of traitor I guess, but it's more just a part of that. I could have gone into more of the backstory of what he'd gone through in the last couple years being shaped but I didn't

Sorry - I should have said "Happy Fete Week"!

Alrighty


Whitey:It only just dawned on me that you were referring to me.

I'll try and think of something better



Anyway, looks like chapter 3 is tomorrow and I think the title is "Bounty Hunter" if that gives anyone an idea

 

just bumping....editing post, should be up soon

 

YK: And I can't seem to find the energy to argue with people on the lit boards anymore I'll get back to it soon though, just like I'll read Survivor's quest soon

Get a bloody move on!

You'll have to wait and see, but I think by now Shimrra knows exactly what Nom Anor is all about.

But does Nom Anor know?

I see what you mean. When I was writing revolution I was thinking about it a lot as Anakin's version of traitor I guess, but it's more just a part of that. I could have gone into more of the backstory of what he'd gone through in the last couple years being shaped but I didn't

Aye, absolutely - and it was good with it. If they want to do Anakin in Traitor, I'm sure they'll slap an "infinities" label on it soon enough...

Alrighty

Still, the snow rocked!

- The Imperial Ewok

 

Get a bloody move on!

I know I know *is still working on the very last chapter of this story*

But does Nom Anor know?

It's all Nom Anor knows he's selfish!

Aye, absolutely - and it was good with it. If they want to do Anakin in Traitor, I'm sure they'll slap an "infinities" label on it soon enough...

Or they could just slap the infinities label on the original Traitor

Still, the snow rocked!

Main reason for the snow is the fact that most of the story takes place on Coruscant and Sekot, and because of the vong forming, they have pretty similar environments and I thought it would be more interesting this way. You'll see why



Okay, here's the new post. It's a long one, but it didn't seem to work when I thought about breaking it up. The pacing in this fic will be better I think. You won't ever go five posts without seeing Anakin or any of the major characters as you did in the 8th cortex.

 

Chapter 3: Bounty Hunter

Ganz Beraflar rubbed his round unshaven face as he watched the workers load the repulsor crates. Being a Peace Brigader on Corellia was getting extremely dangerous and even supervising the transfer of the Yuuzhan Vong weapons gave him cause for fear.

Han Solo and his Jedi children had been seen as far as the Outer Rim, to parts of the Core, hunting down all extensions of the Peace Brigade. Apparently, Solo was angered by the Brigader's attempted capture of his wife, former Chief of State of the New Republic, Leia Organa Solo. But from what Ganz had heard, the capture had been something of a disaster and resulted in the death of every Peace Brigade member involved.

For all the fear Solo and his Children had stirred up, he had only strengthened the Peace Brigade's resolved to rid the galaxy of the dangerous Jedi, and make peace with the alien invaders. Ganz had been born on Corellia, and never saw much use for the Jedi, but when they broke their agreement for peace with the Yuuzhan Vong, Ganz had been one of the first to join the Brigade. The work they did there, though small in scale, was important, and he hoped that they would soon be rid of the Jedi and able to move on with life. He wondered if his help in the Peace Brigade would lead to a high-ranking job in whatever government the Yuuzhan Vong and Peace Brigade members established in the post-war galaxy.

Stuffing his fidgeting hands in the pockets of his coveralls, Ganz glanced around the loading bay from end to end, watching his underlings move crates filled with amphistaffs, thud bugs, and blorash jelly. The Yuuzhan Vong weapons were grown on what had become seed worlds, such as Belkadan, and were transferred through the Peace Brigade to the battle fronts across the galaxy. The demand for the Peace Brigade's help in this manner had drastically decreased since the fall of Coruscant of course, but the Yuuzhan Vong fleets had been stunted at Ebaq, and extra transfer vessels were once again being called upon.

The crates were large and rectangular shaped, their metallic green form hovering a foot from the ground as workers guided them deeper into the bay.

"Hey!" Ganz called to his newest recruits on the far side of the dock. "Shut that vapin' door, will ya? Stang! Are you trying to let spies in? What did I tell you about those Jedi?"

"I'm sorry, sir," said the blonde recruit, punching the door controls before it hissed shut. "Just trying to get these crates in."

Though she showed signs of complete incompetence, Ganz found Swan Lars quite fetching. She'd drawn the majority of male attention since signing on the week before because of her holovid-star looks, and Ganz imagined she had an appealing figure underneath the bulky coveralls. Thus far, she'd rebuked all advances, making it clear she was not interested in the least. Ganz had given up on trying with her, accepting that Swan was far out of his league, making him more aware of her numerous faults.

"Well make sure your buddy knows it too," Ganz snapped, pointing at the Rodian who'd signed up along with Swan, controlling the pair of repulsor crates.

"Sure thing, Beraflar," Swan agreed with a smile, before communicating his message to the green-skinned Rodian in his native language-- or at least, that's what Ganz hoped she was telling him.

A few Peace Brigaders passed between Swan and Ganz before the burley man closed the distance. "What are the codes on those crates?"

Swan knelt down to read the small coded numbers with a datapad. "N-71 and N-72, Sir," she reported.

Ganz furrowed his brow as he checked the information in his own datapad. "Can't be," he said, running his fingers over his chine and thick jowls again. "N-71 and two have already been loaded."

Ganz became aware of a peculiar look on Swan and the Rodian's faces as they exchanged a glance. They were up to something.

"Just what exactly, is going on here?" Ganz demanded, pulling his blaster pistol from its holster, but not pointing it at the pair.

"Maybe I scanned it incorrectly," Swan offered, kneeling down once again to get an accurate reading on the large crates. Ganz did not see Swan's skilled hands brush the crate controls and activate its sliding lid, nor did he see the Rodian reach around and do the same to the second crate-- it all happened too fast.

As Swan rolled away from the crate and the lids slid open, Ganz, panicked by her sudden movements, loosed a blaster bolt at the fleeing woman. The bolt went wide and struck the side of crate N-71 before a bright amethyst light erupted from the now open crate. Ganz didn't see the man who'd been hidden inside the crate emerge, or see him leap out-- but he did feel the heavy boot plant itself in his chest before he toppled hard to the floor.

"It's Anakin Solo!"

Ganz heard one of the Peace Brigaders call out before he got his first clear view of the Jedi Knight. He was dressed in a simple tunic and trousers with a dark blue jacket, looking more like a smuggler than a Jedi, but the vibrant weapon he held in both hands left little doubt that he was the latter.

Ganz couldn't move, paralyzed with fear, and his eyes had trouble following the lightening fast movements of the Jedi. Anakin used his lightsaber to sever a blaster rifle with incredible speed-- the Peace Brigader who'd been holding it recoiled in fear.

The young Jedi sent an elbow to the stomach of a man who attempted to attack him from behind, then held his right hand palm out, and a third Brigader was tossed against a durasteel beam.

It was then that Ganz became aware of what had been in crate N-72, when a petite woman with a long mane of brandy colored hair rolled out, and smashed the pommel of her lightsaber into a Bith's head, knocking him unconscious. Ganz recognized the girl almost instantly, having seen her in the Holodocumentary about the legendary Rogue Squadron during the early part of the war. Like her brother, Jaina Solo was dressed down, wielding a blue-violet lightsaber with the grace of a dancer.

The two Solos began working their way through the loading bay, deflecting a heavy stream of blaster bolts from the panicked Peace Brigade members inside. Ganz heard two of his men cry out as bolts were deflected back at them. It was like a nightmare.

Jaina wrenched a blaster pistol away from a Weequay with an invisible hand, sending her enemy scurrying away.

To his right, Ganz caught sight of the treacherous Swan and her Rodian partner, hunkering down behind the now empty crates and exchanging blaster fire with the two dozen Brigaders inside the bay.

Swan seemed to notice that Ganz was conscious for the first time, and aimed her blaster pistol at the heavy-set man. The last thing Ganz Beraflar saw before losing consciousness was a bright blue stun bolt.





"Vapin moffs!" The male Twi'lek at the control console swore. "I can't believe this!"

"What is it, Remsy?" Dest Ornax asked as he peered over the Twi'lek's shoulder to get a look at what had drawn the Peace Brigader's attention.

On the holo display were the images of two Jedi Knights, disarming and assaulting the Peace Brigade inside the loading bay. Dest gasped at the same time as the Aqualish seated next to Remsy. It was really happening-- they'd found him.

Dest's life had been ruined since the day he took the bounty on Princess Leia Organa Solo over two months ago. He'd delivered her to the Peace Brigade as he'd agreed to do, only to have the whole plan ruined when Leia's Jedi friends arrived on Tatooine and slaughtered her Peace Brigade captors. Dest and his loyal assassin droid, HK-22, had managed to escape the base on Tatooine only to come face to face with Han Solo later. After tricking Han and a minor dog fight between the Millennium Falcon and Dest's ship, Irike's Lunge, Dest had escaped-- What followed was the most nerve-racking time of his life.

For two months he'd waited for Han Solo and his Jedi friends to make good on his promise and find Dest. He had no choice but to go under the protection of the Peace Brigade, hoping that Corellia would be safe as the major hyperspace routes around the planet were controlled by the Yuuzhan Vong. Dest had also secretly hoped that the Peace Brigade would pay him a portion of his promised bounty, as the failure wasn't his and he'd fulfilled his end of the agreement, but as time went on, it became clear that any payment was unlikely.

Having to lay and wait on Corellia for two months, all the while hearing tales of Han Solo's search for him and remembering what the Jedi on Tatooine were capable of, had made him a nervous wreck. He was certain there was more gray in his already peppered brown hair, and large circles had formed under his keen eyes from too many sleepless nights.

There was no more waiting; they'd found him. The loading bay was on the same floor, only meters from the control center. The Peace Brigade base was in the heart of Coronet, about two hundred stories above ground. While trade from outside the Corellian system had all but ceased because of the Yuuzhan Vong occupation, the planets themselves had went virtually untouched by the invaders. Now Dest had to leave-- he had to try.

He turned his attention back to the screen and watched the young brunette woman swat away blaster bolts before severing a female Peace Brigader's hand at the wrist. In Jaina Solo's face, he saw parts of Leia and Han. The determined profile-- it was then that he knew there would be no escape. A heavy blast door was all that separated the loading bay from the control room... all that separated Dest from the Jedi and the fate he'd narrowly escaped on Tatooine.

"Remsy, what's the quickest way to the hanger? Can I get there without going through the loading bay or the adjacent corridors?"

The green-skinned Twi'Lek was too panicked to answer Dest, still staring in shock at the fight on the holo display. Dest turned to the Aqualish, hoping he would be more helpful, but found the same state of surprise in him.

The comm suddenly blasted inside the control room. "Remsy! What is going on inside the loading bay?" Said the voice of the new Peace Brigade leader, Lind Eythatcher, who took over when Thrackan Sal-Solo was captured at Ylseia. Corellia had become the center of Peace Brigade operations because of its combination of still functioning planets and Yuuzhan Vong protection. Dest had met Eythatcher on two occasions and was always surprised he'd become the organizations leader. Lind was thin and pale, with black hair and eyes, seeming slightly out of place among most of the rough looking Brigaders.

"It's... it's... Jedi, Sir!" Remsy managed, eyes wide as he watched the mayhem continue on the display.

"Release the droids," Eythatcher ordered quickly. Dest knew that Eythatcher was watching the chaos from his offices on a higher floor. Dest had met him there once, and saw that the Peace Brigade leader was living quite well.

"Yes... Yes, sir," Remsy obeyed, his green Lekku twisting with nervousness.

Dest pushed away from Remsy's chair and started for the exit from the control chamber, while pulling his blaster pistol and checking its charge. "Come on, Kay-- looks like it's just you and me, once again."

"I am honored, Captain Ornax," HK-22 declared.

"Stuff it," Dest snarled, sparing a glance at the metallic assassin droid. "You blew it last time against the Jedi-- you'd better focus or I'll have your memory wiped and reprogrammed as a serving droid on Gamorr."

"Sir, the Jedi are as good as dead," HK-22 assured. "I am programmed to destroy, and am the most effective assassin in that capacity, despite my recent errors. I will not fail this time.

Dest didn't bother responding, or to point out that Kay failed to destroy the Solo's protocol droid on two separate occasions, but made his way to the exit and hit the activations switch. He had to get to Irike's Lunge-- he'd been lucky so far, but he didn't know how long it would last.





"Anakin, look out!"

Anakin Solo rolled beneath the blaster bolt his sister had warned him of in time to see another blast singe the sleeve of her red-synthleather jacket, narrowly missing her flesh.

"Look out, yourself," Anakin quipped, coming up from his role, cleaving the blaster in the hands of his attacker. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," Jaina assured, continuing to intercept red blasts on her swinging lightsaber. "Where is Ornax, Strift?"

The young woman the Peace Brigade knew as Swan Lars, took a break from her shootout with a pair of Brigaders to answer Jaina's question. "Supposedly in the control room!" She shouted over the blasts. "The heavy doors on the east side of the bay lead to it!"

Anakin's eyes narrowed in concentration. There were only a dozen enemies between them and the control room doors-- beyond them was the man who'd taken his mother from him. It didn't matter that Dest was nothing more than a middleman, working only for money and didn't have Leia or know where she was. They had tracked him for the better part of two months and now their goal was just beyond two durasteel-framed doors.

The Rodian, Neget, who was Strift Zonn's associate, tossed a concussion grenade into a crowd of Peace Brigade, knocking two out with the blast. The Brigaders scattered to avoid the blast and Anakin used the Force to rip a weapon away from a woman-- he wasn't sure why they went to the effort of not killing the Peace Brigade anymore; why they went out of their way to avoid it. In a similar situation with Yuuzhan Vong warriors, they wouldn't hesitate-- but then, there would be no choice. It was odd though, the Yuuzhan Vong were products of their own culture, where the Peace Brigade were just treacherous in spite of everything. He and Jaina had talked about the absurdity of it all on many occasions during the seemingly endless hunt-- the line between right and wrong was blurring further as the war continued. The path of the light side seemed to narrow.

Jaina snap-kicked a Peace Brigade member and sent him to the ground unconscious, before Strift cried out. "Battle droids! Look out!"

Anakin and Jaina turned in time to see eight battle droids pour in from a side door on the far right wall. The pre-Clone Wars models were hardly the most effective enemies, but they would slow the Jedi down and Anakin suspected that was their purpose.

The pair was suddenly assailed by a hail of blaster fire from the right, wildly parrying every shot that was on its mark.

"You first, Little Brother!" Jaina called to him, and Anakin gave a slight nod of confirmation.

He launched himself into the line of skeletal like droid, giving his blade a vertical spin before decapitation one droid with a two-handed swing from the right, and sending its long snout to the floor. He then took the arm off another before spinning and stabbing the droid through the torso. The tan droid emitted a series of indecipherable tones amidst the sparks flowing from its wound, before joining Anakin's first victim in a heap. Jaina was soon in the fray, eliminating the enemy droids with each skilled swing. Before long, the battle droids were destroyed and the Peace Brigaders inside the loading bay were either out of commission or cowering in fear behind the supply crates.

"Strift, we need you!" Jaina called back to the older woman.

She and Neget came bounding through the bay until they made it to Anakin and Jaina at the large double doors leading tot he control center. "Quickly," Jaina encouraged.

Strift's fingers flew over the security pad, entering one of the codes she'd been given since joining the Peace Brigade. Anakin was amazed she could keep all the numbers straight, given how many times they'd run variations of this same con-- how many Peace Brigade compounds they'd infiltrated in recent weeks. Anakin wasn't sure he could have done it, and he had a near photographic memory.

Strift finished entering the code and stepped away from the now opening doors. As the durasteel parted with a hiss, a small set of blue lit stairs and another open door were revealed. The Jedi vaulted up the stairs, followed by the two smugglers, going through the open door and entered the control room, only to see a green Twi'Lek and a heavy-set Aqualish scamper out a rear exit.

Anakin quickly ran to the exit and peered around the corner at the fleeing pair. "No sign of Ornax."

Jaina shook her head and brushed some of her long hair away from her face. "He'll be going for his ship; dad will get him."





Sweat streamed down Dest's face and his panicked breaths matched the rhythm of his frantic run. HK-22 was keeping up well, rocking his blaster rifle from left to right with each stiff gallop. Dest felt as though he could feel the heat of the Jedi's blades on the back of his neck, pushing his legs faster to escape his doom.

He rounded the corner, turning onto another sleek corridor with brilliant light panels on the ceiling and trim on the walls. The building was quite nice, representative of the high esteem the Peace Brigade was held on Corellia and the amount of credits they were drawing in, even if they hadn't been officially sanctioned by the Corellian government and weren't outwardly endorsed by anyone who wasn't a member-- and even most of those still kept their identities secret.

After traveling down a slight incline, Dest came to the hanger he'd left his beloved ship in. The door automatically hissed open as he approached and the bounty hunter stepped through to see half a dozen personal ships--among them, the pristine Irike's Lunge.

The ship gleamed as light danced off its silver hull. The majority of the craft was circular body, that Dest had used at times for smuggling goods or weaponry, while the cockpit was at the end of a long tube that ran on the right side of the Lunge. The design was rounded and polished, having belonged to Prince Irike of Reecee. It was the finest craft Dest had ever laid eyes on and he still could not believe his own luck that he was able to steal it a decade ago.

Dest tried not to lose himself in the beauty of his ship and surveyed the long hanger, looking for any sign of the Jedi. His head whipped back and forth as he neared Irike's Lunge, waiting for the Solo children to jump out at any moment and skewer him. Dest felt as though his heart was between his ears, as his rapid heartbeats were deafening-- but all that was in the Peace Brigade hanger beside the ships and equipment was a small astromech droid.

The droid whistled and came around the left side of the Lunge, scanning the hanger in a manner less purposeful than most droids Dest had seen. His steps slowed as he observed the astromech, growing more suspicious of it with each passing second. The droid's primary photoreceptor seemed to focus on Dest for the first time, and the roaming astromech suddenly stopped silent.

Dest froze in panic before red lights shone from its dome and it erupted with a series of panicked whistles. HK-22 pointed his rifle at the droid and fired, but the blue lined astromech was already scurrying away, narrowly escaping the blast.

"Forget it!" Dest yelled, slapping the assassin on the arm and sprinting towards Irike's Lunge, now only a few meters away.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Dest saw something move and fly from the roof of a nearby skipray, before feeling several violent stabs as long claws sunk into his shoulders. The force of the Noghri's attack brought Dest face first to the floor of the hanger, screaming loudly.

Kay fired a precise bolt into the back of his Noghri who let out an animal yelp and released Dest from its fierce grip. The bounty hunter pushed himself back to his feet as crimson streamed from his shoulders. The Noghri was, no doubt, one of Leia Solo's bodyguards, which meant there was at least one more nearby.

Suddenly the Lunge's landing ramp came down and the face Dest had feared for two months came into view. Aiming an ancient DL-44 at Dest, Han Solo scowled-- it was a trap. They knew Dest would come here and they'd been ready for him. More angering, they'd been inside his ship...

"Nice to see you again, Ornax," Han said, slowly walking down the ramp and keeping his blaster trained on Dest. "Put your hands in the air."

Dest slowly raised his hands while HK-22 kept his own rifle pointed at Han; the assassin droid was statuesque.

"And call off your assassin," Han insisted. "Meewalh, kindly relieve Captain Ornax and his droid of their weapons."

A second stout Noghri came out from behind the skipray, her sharp teeth grinding as she approached Dest.

"So this is the dirt bag," a smooth voice said from behind. Dest turned his head enough to see a middle-aged man with dark skin and a neat mustache, dressed in some very expensive garments and a tan cape. "Hard to believe a scrawny little wamp rat like this could have captured Leia."

Dest glared. He couldn't quite place a name with the man's face, but he did recognize him. The man stepped about four meters from Dest and HK-22, keeping a blaster pointed at the bounty hunter. He was now surrounded from all sided, except the right, which was the hanger’s entrance, open to the blowing Coronet winds.

Meewalh was within two meters of him and Dest realized it was now or never. He didn’t even need to give the word-- he and Kay had been in so many positions like this one that the droid knew exactly what to do without being asked.

A small compartment hidden in HK-22's torso launched a grenade at the approaching Noghri, nailing her in the chest. Meewalh narrowly escape the blast with her incredible reflexes and was slung into the side of the old skipray.

Dest himself barely escaped the explosion, hitting the ground hard as the hanger erupted with blaster fire. HK-22 was trading shots with Solo and the dapper stranger, while Dest used the smoke from the explosion to crawl around to the other side of the Lunge.

There was no way into his ship now-- even if he was able to kill Solo and his thugs, he was sure the ship had been outfitted with some tracking device by now, if not simply sabotaged. Dest pulled his blaster as his head darted around, looking for an escape route, but the only one he saw was the hanger's entrance, which led to a two-hundred story drop-- not an ideal way to go. So lost in the wish that he was safe inside one of the many air speeders passing the opening, that Dest did not see Han Solo's fist coming before it crashed into his jaw. The pain radiated through his body, eclipsing that from the punctures in his shoulders from the Noghri. He hit the floor again, trying to aim his blaster as the former smuggler rained blows upon him. Dest managed to kick Han away for a moment and scurry back towards Kay, who was still shooting it out with the dark-skinned man, who'd found cover behind the adjacent skipray.

Solo once again found his way to Dest, kicking the man in the stomach as he tried to rise to his feet. As Dest landed on his back, Han Solo appeared to be satisfied with the beating he'd given, and pointed his blaster at Dest.

The bounty hunter flinched and his eyes closed tight when he heard a blaster fire and waited for his impending doom, but when his eyes opened, he saw Solo clutching his right bicep, a large scorch mark around his white shirt. Kay shot him!

Solo mustered enough strength to fire his weapon back at the droid and Dest was surprised to see blue stun bolts coming from the DL-44-- Solo hadn't intended to kill him. Dest decided not to wait and see how the fight was finished and pushed himself to his feet once more.

The stun bolt seemed to paralyze HK-22's shooting arm and the assassin droid's programming to kill at all costs seemed to kick in, as he lunged forward and seized Solo by the throat. As Kay strangled the aging hero, Dest clutched his aching ribs and frantically searched for some way out, but the only door on his end of the hanger was guarded by Solo's friend, who had ceased his fire when Kay closed the distance between the droid and Han. He heard Solo squeal as the droid's incredible grip began to crush his windpipe, and then, a deafening blast sounded inside the hanger.

From the corner of his teary eyes, Dest saw a bright red flash leave Irike's Lunge, as the forward laser was discharged and HK-22 was ripped away from Solo. Dest's long time partner was torn to pieces by his beloved ship, falling to the hanger floor in a scattered, smoldering heap.

"My goodness," said a prissy droid voice from inside the Lunge, using the cockpit comm that a pilot would use to communicate with the hanger's control. "Captain Solo? Did I hit the right button? I couldn’t see; did I get him? Did I get him?"

Han Solo gasped and pried the still viced metal claw from around his throat before shouting back. "Yeah!" He said in complete surprise. "Nice shooting, Goldenrod!"

Dest ran. There was nowhere else to go, and he couldn't allow them to capture... he wouldn't give the satisfaction of killing him. There was nowhere else to go, so he charged towards his only escape with a growing resolve.

"Hey!" He heard Solo shout from behind. "He's getting away! Get him, Lando!"

Dest could feel the stranger lining up a shot at his back as he reached the gaping hanger entrance, winds whipping in from the cold air outside. He peered down at the distant plunge, the ground that could not be seen through the fog rising to encase the buildings.

Dest jumped.

Lando's stunbolt passed just over his shoulder, missing its mark as Dest tried to control his fall. Less than five meters below the hanger mouth, Dest hit the hard metal roof of a passing tram and felt his ankle snap before falling on his stomach. The rushing winds pushed him back as the tram was moving through the city at incredible speeds. Dest could see the line of trams in the distance as far as he could in front and trailing behind, traveling on two blue energy beams that kept the trams afloat.

The tram's acceleration was too much for Dest's beaten body to take, and the winds tore his hands loose from the roof and sent him arcing into a flat bed, two towering carts of the tram providing him with resistance from the intense travel.

Dest saw a few workers on the walkway, moving between tram carts, stop and stare at him. He was bloody and laying on a tram like a vagrant--but he'd escaped.

He would have smiled if his face didn't hurt so much from Han Solo's assault.





"Dad! Where are you?" Jaina screamed into her comlink as she and Anakin trotted through the Peace Brigade base, routinely taking on the occasional enemy.

"I'm in the hanger," Han grunted.

"Are you all right?" Jaina asked, breaking stride for a split second. "You sound terrible."

"I'm fine," he insisted in a strained voice. "Ornax got away! He hopped on a tram!"

Jaina stopped as she tried to decide what to do, looking around. She grabbed Anakin's sleeve and pulled him down another corridor.

"We're on it, Dad-- he won't get away," Jaina assured. "We sent Strift and Neget back to help you."

"All right, but be careful," Han ordered. "This guy has almost as many tricks up his sleeve as me."

"Copy," Jaina confirmed, clipping the comlink to her belt.

"Where are we going?" Anakin asked, desperate to know why they'd suddenly changed direction.

"To chase a tram," Jaina answered, quickening her pace.

"Yeah," Anakin said, matching her run, "I gathered that-- but where are we running to?"

Anakin's answer came when they reached the end of the corridor and a durasteel door flew open to reveal a parking garage, filled with the Peace Brigade's speeders.

The few Peace Brigaders in the lot fled at the sight of the Jedi, Jaina imagined Anakin's still ignited lightsaber had something to do with it.

"Which one?" Anakin asked, surveying the line of air speeders.

"Does it matter?" Jaina questioned.

Anakin shrugged, deactivating his weapon and hopping into an expensive looking metallic blue two-seater with an open top. "You're the one who is always lecturing me about being too rash," Anakin said, hot-wiring the speeder. "I just didn't want to have the same argument again."

With his natural ability to understand machines, it didn't take Anakin long to start the speeder.

"As long as this doesn't turn into another Ando, you won't ever have to hear that speech again," Jaina replied, as the speeder rose and took off like a blaster bolt.

The sun had set hours ago and Corellia's moon was bright overhead, though considerable dimmed by the streetlights and lines of roaming traffic. The head and taillights of speeders created a dizzying kaleidoscope of colors in the city fly ways.

"Hey, if I couldn't have sensed the Yuuzhan Vong, we would never have gotten out of the Ando Peace Brigade compound alive," Anakin countered, whipping his speeder into traffic.

Jaina quickly fastened her safety harness and grabbed her seat tightly, nails digging into the vinyl. "And if you didn't feel the need to right every wrong-- or at least wait for the proper opportunity to do so, the Vong wouldn't have even known we were there--," Jaina gasped as Anakin took the speeder into a dive, narrowly escaping a dozen collisions.

"Forget that," Jaina said, stopping the fight she knew was coming. "Why are you driving?"

Anakin grinned. "Does it matter?"

Jaina rolled her eyes. "In this case... Yes!" Jaina belted out the last word as Anakin swerved around an airbus. "I am the better pilot."

"Ha! Only because you've been spending your time with Jagged Fel," Anakin said in a mocking tone and took his eyes off the traffic long enough to make a teasing pucker with his lips.

Jaina glowered at her little brother's insolence. When Anakin had found out about Jaina's relationship with the Chiss-raised pilot, he'd found it hilarious and laughed harder than Jaina had when she discovered Jacen's feelings for Danni Quee.

Jaina slugged her brother in the shoulder, then attempted to straighten her petite frame and pretend the two of them hadn't reverted to six-year-olds.

"There it is," Anakin announced, motioning with his chin.

Jaina followed her brother's movement and saw the two thin cables of energy, shinning blue, and a long line of trams that used them to propel.

Anakin again put the quick speeder in another dive, sidling up to the trams, staying just above the carts.

"Must be one of the carts farther up in line," Jaina insisted. "These things are traveling fast and Ornax slipped away from Dad several minutes ago."

Anakin pushed the speeder harder, passing dozens of the large trams. "How will we know which one? He could be inside one of the carts and we'd pass it by without knowing."

Jaina shrugged. "Just keep your eyes and senses open, I guess."

Anakin nodded and continued zipping along side the lumbering transports.

"You're right though," Anakin admitted. "These things are going really fast-- it's going to be impossible to land this speeder on one of them."

Jaina continued to stare at the trams, looking for any sign of Dest Ornax. "Don't worry about that; you won't need to land."

"There!" Anakin exclaimed, taking one hand of the speeder controls to point at a flat bed cart connected to several larger carts by walkways on a tram. A small crowd had gathered on the durasteel bed around a man who was struggling to stand.

"It has to be him," Jaina agreed, getting a sense of panic from the crowd. "Get lower."

"What are you going to do?" Anakin asked, obeying his sister's order.

"What do you think?" She asked, unfastening her safety harness.

Anakin shook his head. "I don't like this, Jaina. I don't--."

Anakin suddenly stopped himself as the injured man seemed to take notice of their speeder for the first time and pulled a blaster pistol out of a thigh holster. The crowd around Dest Ornax scattered at the sight of the weapon and the bounty hunter began firing blaster bolts at the pursuing speeder.

Shots scorched the front of the speeder and Jaina saw her brother flinch as one shot ricocheted off the windshield.

"Lower, Anakin!" Jaina shouted as she crawled out of her seat and pulled her body along the rear of the speeder, staying low to keep the winds from ripping her off of the vehicle.

Anakin complied, now only four meters above the tram and completely parallel to it. Jaina put her boots on the speeder and pulled her body down into a tight crouch, waiting for the right moment. Dest seemed to realize what the Jedi were planning and began limping down on of the walkways towards the larger carts while continuing to discharge his blaster in their direction.

"Try and keep it steady!" Jaina called to her brother, who was rocking the speeder to avoid some of Dest's shots.

"Sorry!" Anakin apologized, straightening the speeder out and accelerated more to give Jaina more room to land on the flat bed.

She waited until the spacing was right and then, Jaina called on the Force to fill her and leapt from the speeder. Time slowed as her body flew towards the metal flatbed, no longer accelerating as fast as the speeder or the flatbed were, and watching the meters fly by. Only with the aid of the Force was she able to leap quick enough and land on the tram, rather than slamming into the side of one of the carts as a non-Force user would have.

The Force cushioned her landing, but pain spiked up Jaina's legs and a large bin slammed into her before her body was finally secured on the tram, and traveling with it. Jaina quickly took stock of herself, making sure nothing was broken, before scanning for Dest through the scattering crowd and loaded bins. Ornax had abandoned firing on Anakin and his speeder after Jaina disembarked and was now hobbling as fast as he could towards a large passenger cart. Jaina pulled her lightsaber loose from her belt and took off after the fleeing bounty hunter.

She dodged and weaved around the tram’s passengers, running the other direction and trying to keep Dest in her field of view. Finally breaking free of the panicked crowd, Jaina had a clear path on the walkway to Dest, who was nearly at the passenger cart's entrance. Her lightsaber blade snapped into existence and cast a blue hue over Jaina as she closed the distance between her and her prey.

"Halt, Ornax!" Jaina commanded.

The bounty hunter whipped around with incredible speed and fired three quick bolts from his pistol. Jaina saw it before it happened and intercepted the fire with her electric blade, batting the last bolt back at Dest. The deflected blast nailed him in his thigh and Dest let out a loud yelp, somehow managing to stay on his feet. He is tough...

Jaina began to feel an anger build in her that she'd attempted to bury at Hapes. This was the man who had taken their mother away, handed her over to the Peace Brigade and expecting she would be killed by the Yuuzhan Vong-- all for money.

The Jedi Knight clenched her left fist and punched the bounty hunter as hard as she could, before grabbing the scruff of his hair and bringing her knee into his stomach. Dest doubled over and then crumpled to the deck.

A slight impulse was pushing Jaina to finish him and run her blade through the man... No! The dark side was close, seeming to blur her actions.

Just as Jaina was about to deactivate her lightsaber, Dest Ornax suddenly pulled a vibroblade that had been hidden in his sleeve and sliced at Jaina’s leg. The swing nearly caught her as Jaina leapt back, bringing her lightsaber around in a tight swing and using it to knock the vibroblade from Dest's grip. Jaina continued moving, shutting down her lightsaber and reversing her grip, before smashing the pommel into Dest's skull and knocking him unconscious.

She rose, panting heavily from the intense chase and fight. She put her hands on her hips and tried to catch her breath.

Suddenly, the realization of what had just been accomplished hit Jaina and her lips curled into a smile.

They'd captured Dest Ornax.

 

Great action scene. Loved seeing the Solos work together.

 

Now that, my friend, is STAR WARS!!

Superbly choreographed fight-scene, a great way to reintroduce the rest of the Solo clan, some great lines (Jaina saw it before it happened and intercepted the fire with her electric blade, batting the last bolt back at Dest ), brilliant, snappy dialogue ("Captain Solo? Did I hit the right button? I couldn?t see; did I get him? Did I get him?" ) and some really good character-development for Anakin and Jaina... I like the way you're taking 'em - the dangers simply of being Jedi...!

All in all - brilliant stuff!

How fast can we try to persuade you to post this 'fic?!

- The Imperial Ewok

 

That was amazing, YK!

Ditto to everything Thrawn_McEwok said. I've seriously missed well-written fics like this one on the boards, and this post was especially good. Completely unexpected entrance for the Solos, awesome fight scene, and great dialogue. I especially liked the insight into the Peace Brigaders, why they do what they do. Its not something we usually see.

More soon!

 

That was awesome. Your action scenes are nothing short of brilliant

And Threepio

Somehow, I can understand why Anakin thinks J/J is funny

Great post, YK! Post more soon

 

Ditto to everything Thrawn_McEwok said.

Same here!

I'm trying to reply, but it's tough with my jaw on the floor. That was AMAZING, pure and simple. Anakin, Jaina, and Han- three cheers for team Solo!! Ah, poor Dest, no, really, I mean it- honest.

I really liked your descriptions of the Solo's hunt for Dest, and their raids on the Peace Brigade strongholds. Very nicely done. Or, in the words of a great man er machine,... "Impressive, most impressive." Honestly, I can't say enough about how cool this chapter was, and that says plenty, if you take my meaning.

Excellent post, and I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next, YodaKenobi.


JD.

 

RebelMom: Great action scene. Loved seeing the Solos work together.

Thanks I've seen you around the boards, thanks for reading!


Imperial Ewoker: Now that, my friend, is STAR WARS!!

Thanks, buddy.

Superbly choreographed fight-scene, a great way to reintroduce the rest of the Solo clan, some great lines (Jaina saw it before it happened and intercepted the fire with her electric blade, batting the last bolt back at Dest ), brilliant, snappy dialogue ("Captain Solo? Did I hit the right button? I couldn?t see; did I get him? Did I get him?" ) and some really good character-development for Anakin and Jaina... I like the way you're taking 'em - the dangers simply of being Jedi...!

wow, thanks I didn't really know where I was going when I started writing this chapter when I started, but it just kept unfolding and getting longer. I was thinking about having Han just catch Dest in hanger, but that seemed boring, so I had him jump out I remembered a Tram in the game Jedi Academy when you go to Coronet, so that seemed like as good a place as any for him to land

The interaction between Jaina and Anakin was something I really wanted right off the bat, as they spend a LOT of time together in this fic.

All in all - brilliant stuff!

Glad you feel that way

How fast can we try to persuade you to post this 'fic?!

Well, I am highly suggestible and vulnerable to Jedi mind tricks



Whats-her-face: That was amazing, YK!

Thanks!


Ditto to everything Thrawn_McEwok said. I've seriously missed well-written fics like this one on the boards, and this post was especially good. Completely unexpected entrance for the Solos, awesome fight scene, and great dialogue. I especially liked the insight into the Peace Brigaders, why they do what they do. Its not something we usually see.

Thanks again. Now that you mentioned the Peace Brigade, the only stuff I remember written from their POV was Sal-Solo in Ylseia I could be forgetting something though.

Glad the Solos entrance was a surprise and the dailogue went over well

More soon!

Of course. I'll have chapter 4 up soon.



FamousAmos:That was awesome. Your action scenes are nothing short of brilliant

Thanks Hope you enjoyed it, becuase with the exception of a little bit of action in the next chapter, there isn't any for a long time It's okay though, I think the last half is almost all action

And Threepio

Threepio is a badass now He killed an assassin droid! He had to get him back for shooting him twice in the last fic.

Somehow, I can understand why Anakin thinks J/J is funny

Yeah, me too.

Great post, YK! Post more soon

Yup yup! Next we see Mrs. Jade.



JDH3: Same here!
I'm trying to reply, but it's tough with my jaw on the floor. That was AMAZING, pure and simple. Anakin, Jaina, and Han- three cheers for team Solo!! Ah, poor Dest, no, really, I mean it- honest.

Yeah, they caught him. Couldn't let that jerk escape

I really liked your descriptions of the Solo's hunt for Dest, and their raids on the Peace Brigade strongholds. Very nicely done. Or, in the words of a great man er machine,... "Impressive, most impressive." Honestly, I can't say enough about how cool this chapter was, and that says plenty, if you take my meaning.

Thanks This was one of my favorite chapters too. But the really good action scenes you'll have to wait a while for Glad you like all the between story stuff about the Solos and the Peace Brigade. It's just what I pictured them doing if Leia got captured.

Excellent post, and I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next, YodaKenobi.

Thanks, JDH3