Subject: [OTL]: (alt. Betsy/Star Wars) Fanged Butterfly 2: Knightcross 40/? (R) From: Phil Hartman Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:22:18 +0000 will1@earthling.net Fanged Butterfly Vol. 2: Knightcross Chapter 40 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Marvel's are Marvel's. LFL's are LFL's. Any original characters are mine. The rest belong to their owners/creators. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. WARNING: Themes, imagery, some violence. --------------------------------------------------- 40 ABY: Lower levels of Nar Shaddaa, Nal Hutta System, Hutt Space, Outer Rim Territories, Galactic South: --------------------------------------------------- Ben knew he couldn't outgun Gardulla or her thugs, but he DID have a few tricks left ... #She's gotta have ysalamiri; no way she could hold Aunt Betsy and Kiro otherwise. But I learned how to fight without the Force, and how to spy on perps ...# Ben thought, dialing through comlink channels until he found ... "Rwoo bwurt owoo?" Ben heard, and he managed a smile. "Artoo. You OK?" the boy asked, ducking back into an alley as some rough-looking Aqualish walked by. The little droid toodled a mournful series of replies that Ben translated with his comlink, and he winced; Artoo and Threepio both had restraining bolts, and everyone else was chained up ... AND Mom, Dad, Aunt Leia, Uncle Han, Chewie, Ganner, Kyp, Raynar, AND K'urod were all prisoners, with Aunt Betsy, Kiro, Dani, the droids ... but no Plif. /Plif?/ Ben called through the Force, knowing the risk if Gardulla had vornskrs or a dark Jedi on her payroll, but ... ~Ben!? Thank the light! I thought you were dead! I'm in Gardulla's palace, trying to figure out some way to help the others. I could cut the power, but I'm not clear if that would free the others,~ the hoojib sent, from somewhere high above Ben. /Just wait for my signal; we'll have to make this count. Artoo gave me the coordinates, so I know where to go. The tricky part is what to do about the ysalamiri,/ Ben replied, heading for a public lift. He didn't want to kill the ysalamiri, but they were the source of the Force dampening field keeping the Jedi among the prisoners from being able to draw on it and break free. Worse, Ben had no guarantee that even if he COULD get rid of the ysalamiri AND get the adults free, that Gardulla's thugs wouldn't shoot everyone before they could escape. Unless ... Ben shuddered at his trump card, but if worst came to worst ... he had the Phoenix Force. It really worried Ben, how powerful the Phoenix was. And that it had its own mind, its own ... hunger. But Ben would do what he needed to. Everyone had risked their lives for him lots of times. They were his FAMILY. And he wasn't gonna abandon them. It was time to give back ... time to be a Jedi. #Now THINK ...# Ben figured, starting to plan as he closed in on Gardulla's HQ. Maybe part of his GAG training might come in handy too ... --------------------------------------------------- Gardulla hadn't been foolhardy enough to order Mara to be dressed in dancers' garb and chained to her dais; she was out to humiliate Betsy, to break her. Well, the fat schutta could take a LOT from her, Betsy thought, but only Betsy could FEEL humiliated. And when the moment was right, Gardulla would pay for Ben's death ... no. Betsy would take out Gardulla WITHOUT the dark side. Ben's memory deserved better than that. ~Elizabeth?~ she heard, temporarily ignored as Gardulla consulted with her aide, Rautha, about what sounded like a GA thrust at Fondor ... ~Plif! Thank the Force ... don't tell me where you are. The Technet have telepaths. Can you cut the power?~ Betsy asked the hoojib, masking her pleased surprise with a sad look. ~I'm waiting on - Oh. OH! Hang on - here we go -~ Plif sent - and the lights went out, as Gardulla raged, {WHO KRIFFED WITH THE POWER!? I'm running a wretched hive of scum and villainy here!} What mattered to Betsy was that taser effect in her collar was off ... but before she could wrap her chain around the Hutt, precise blaster shots from the ceiling started picking off ysalamiri ... and Betsy gasped in joy as a familiar Force signature reappeared, along with her Force senses. Ben floated down from the rafters, while the lights came back on, and the clack of opening shackles along the walls made the crowd SCREAM in terror ... "NOBODY messes with my family, Your Bloatedness," Ben said, smiling despite ... tears? And THEN the riot broke out, and Betsy darted around Gardulla, grinning maniacally, and YANKED. And the bodies started flying. --------------------------------------------------- Mara couldn't be prouder. OR more relieved, as she spin kicked another Gamorrean across the jaw and reached in the Force toward the weapon locker where the Jedi strike teams' lightsabers and Han and Chewbacca's blasters were stored. The weapons went flying to their respective owners, but Mara saw those weird aliens who'd attacked the strike teams go for Ben ... They were after her KID. #NOT. HAPPENING,# she thought, leaping, and letting her fists and feet fly. The yellow one who'd caught Luke in energy rings fell first, and Mara grabbed her, tossing her at the short one who'd made Mara lose muscle tone. They collapsed, leaving Mara to duck a blue one with a tail, and Mara gutpunched HER ... and that one SHRANK a slimy green one, who'd tried to sneak up on Mara, who tossed the blue one at some short green thug; the impact tossed HIM at a furry one with swords. They went down, and Mara found herself facing a floating ... baby? ... but when some kind of mental attack brushed her shields, she let her OUTRAGE flood her mind, and the creature started sobbing. Mara pushed the alien at some greenhaired floating schutta, and an energy backlash knocked them both out ... And then a towering blue female leapt toward Ben, and Mara SNARLED, grabbing the alien in the Force as the amazed boy ducked, and ran to hug his mother. "You're OK?" Ben asked, and Mara just dropped the alien ringleader, returning Ben's hug. "I am now. You?" Mara asked, not hiding her joy or relief, rubbing Ben's buzzcut with her cheek ... or rather, the side of his head; he'd grown. "Glad everyone's OK. I'm sorry for the ysalamiri. They didn't deserve to die for Gardulla," Ben lamented, and Mara was touched by his compassion. She spared none for the alien on the floor, at whom Mara growled, "Leave. Now. And if you EVER come near my family again ..." To Mara's surprise, the towering female leapt up and actually bellowed, "You DARE threaten ME!?" Ben both smiled and winced, sending, /She really has NO idea, does she?/ Mara kissed his forehead and smiled wickedly, then released him, sending, /You're such a wonderfully bright boy. Go see if your dad's OK, please?/ Ben hugged her again and ran toward Luke, as Mara gave the offended alien leader a truly EVIL look. "Sister, you tried to capture my kid. You messed with my family and friends. And you actually think you get to give ME attitude?" Mara snapped. She cracked her knuckles and leapt ... Oh, YEAH. Time to work off some aggravation. --------------------------------------------------- Betsy tightened her grip on Gardulla, almost feeling sorry for Gatecrasher when Mara started pounding on her ... {You - AKK - think I'm stupid enough to not learn from Jabba!? If - AKK - I go, my base goes with me!} Gardulla gagged, and Betsy winced when she saw a heart monitor attached to a pack of thermal detonators wrapped around Gardulla's midsection. "All right. Except for one problem: I am telekinetic. You might well kill most of your thugs, but I'm sure the other Jedi and I will survive," Betsy warned. Gardulla seemed to consider this ... {I DID cheat Tarfang; maybe going out might save me from a more painful death,} Gardulla admitted, and Betsy cursed ... and then they saw Tarfang aiming his proton bazooka. "CHEAT!?" the Ewok snarled, from a pile of credit chips, and Betsy couldn't really believe the Ewok would - FWOOSH "YAP!! GET US OUT OF HERE!!" Betsy heard Gatecrasher shout - BWAKOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! --------------------------------------------------- Ben felt, instead of hearing, the proton grenade launch, and he gaped in horror as it headed toward Aunt Betsy. His reaction was instinctive, and he wasn't thinking when he grabbed her and Mom and everyone else in fiery wings ... The Phoenix Effect lifted the Skywalkers, Solos, Chewie, the droids, Betsy and the other Jedi, Plif, and Dani clear of Gardulla's exploding base, but Ben doubled over in pain; he heard the deathscreams of Gardulla's thugs, AND felt them exit the Force ... ~BEN! Hang on,~ Aunt Betsy sent, grabbing the others in a telekinetic bubble. They landed outside Gardulla's ruined spacescraper, and Ben hit his knees, his mind on fire and his stomach rolling over. ~LET ME *OUT*!!~ the Phoenix SHRIEKED, but Ben fought it, and Mom and Dad helped him, holding onto him ... #I. SAID. *NO* !!!# Ben thought back, struggling to his feet; he couldn't let the Phoenix out ... and then those aliens materialized nearby, the ones who'd captured his family ... Their leader, whom Ben somehow knew was called Gatecrasher, looked at the small crowd with concern, but Ben knew it was more fear than compassion, and the Phoenix twitched angrily. ~Fools. Little gnats!~ the entity shouted, and Ben fought it down ... barely ... Aunt Betsy cut in front of him, then, and said, "Don't even TRY it, Gatecrasher. Ben is innocent." "The boy may be, Braddock, but you know how dangerous the Phoenix is! He obviously can't control the entity, and we have the crosstime authority to contain potentially destructive cosmic entities," Gatecrasher said, gulping when Mom snarled and lit her lightsaber. "Take ONE step toward my son, and what I did to your losers back in Gardulla's will seem like a ryshcate walk," Mom growled, and Dad, Aunt Leia, Uncle Han, Chewie, and Artoo backed her up, while Aunt Betsy glared and Threepio made a worried noise ... THAT IS *ENOUGH!* , a ... Voice roared - and they were all ... somewhere else. ----------------------------------------------------- Bast Castle, Vjun, Outer Rim Territories, Galactic East: ----------------------------------------------------- Something had just happened, Jacen realized. Something ... bad. Mom, Uncle Luke, Aunt Mara, and Ben all vanished from the Force - not dead, but not HERE, either. And the Force was roiling in warning; something was nearing Vjun, full of outrage and vengeance ... Jacen left his bed, checking on Tenel Ka; she slept soundly, while the twins dreamed happily down the hall. Jacen still headed to the command center, and checked with the night watch, as the Shaped Ones had always prepared for the risk of invasion. Bareth Havelin, a young man from Yag'Dhul, was on the cognition throne, and dismounted to nod respectfully to Jacen. "Sir. We've isolated a single incoming ship; lifesigns indicate a crew of Bothans," Havelin said, while the master holovillip showed a typical Bothan freighter. Nothing was typical when it came to Bothans, though. The furry spies were among the most devious beings in the galaxy, and their joining the Confederacy had been a blow to the Alliance. Worse, they had a legitimate grief with Jacen, since Lumiya had massacred the Bothan embassy staff on Coruscant when Jacen had still been Darth Caedus. AND, they hated all things Vong, after the death of Borsk Fey'lya, the treacherous Bothan Chief of State who'd nevertheless died a hero when he killed thousands of Vong during the Vong conquest of Coruscant. #They could be coming here to ... Force, please let me be wrong,# Jacen hoped, before he called, "Havelin, hail them, quickly." The younger man obeyed, and a disgusted looking male Bothan face filled the hologram. "Solo. So, the sick rumors are true. You turned yourself and others into half Vong freaks, along with your thuggish treachery," the Bothan snapped. "Look, whatever your mission, we can talk about this. There are innocent people, children, here. If you want to take revenge, I'll surrender myself," Jacen pleaded, but the Bothan sneered. "There ARE no innocents where the Vong are concerned. The Jedi may have denied us Zonama Sekot, but our payload will ensure Vjun is cleansed of Vong corruption," the Bothan spat. "Not ... Alpha Red!?" Jacen blurted; he could sense the Bothans' urgency, willingness to die ... and crashing a freighter full of a biotoxin created to kill all things with Vong genetics would definitely "cleanse" Vjun. "IF there were some way to eliminate your Vong degeneration, we would leave. But you chose sick experimentation, and our ark'rai vow binds us to wipe out all that is Vong," the Bothan replied, almost with hesitation. Jacen could sense a way out ... but it might kill him. #Better me than anyone else. This is all my doing. Anakin and Tahiri went to Ossus to help Cilghal move here; and we don't have the ships to escape, not in the numbers we need,# he thought, sending out a warning through the Force ... "Then Vjun will be ... unShaped," Jacen told the Bothan, as the Shaped Ones collectively gasped ... and Jacen reached out, with all his knowledge and power. Unlike Coruscant, which the World Brain had remade into Yuuzhan'tar, JACEN had guided Vjun's Vongforming, as well as that of every Shaped One except the natural born Shaped children. In all the ways that mattered, Jacen WAS a World Brain, coupled with the skills of a Vong Master Shaper and a dozen different Force traditions. His arrogance had sired a race that had never been intended to exist; where healing had been needed, he had wrought pain, twisting the Force and those who had trusted him. But what could be bent, could be made whole. Even the natural born Shaped children could be made fully human ... Jacen pled for his followers' understanding as he reached into Vjun's heart, tapping the world's Force aura and undoing what he had done. Where the ... unShaping ... would cause pain, Jacen absorbed it. That lesson, at least, would remain with him ... He collapsed as Tenel Ka caught him, and smiled despite the sympathetic wounds bleeding from his once more human body. If this was his penance, at least his family would live. ----------------------------------------------------- Tenel Ka had awoken to find herself ... naked, in the human sense, and once more FULLY human ... and glad she had insisted on the issuance of dressing gowns to all of her new people. The SHOCK of being ... unShaped ... had been nothing compared to Tace's confusion and Allana's disappointment, but the twins were safe with the guards, and Tenel Ka knew their concerns over being human had to wait. Because if ALL of Vjun's residents were once more fully human, only one person could be responsible ... She found Jacen shaking and gasping, bleeding badly as the former Shapers struggled to staunch his wounds, and a horrified Bothan face stammered in the holotank. Not all technology had been wiped from Vjun. But the acrid stench of decaying Vongtech meant all the world was free of Vong genetics. Vjun was reverting to its old self. It was no comfort to the former Hapan queen, who knelt beside her love as he struggled to live. She bit back tears as she sensed why he had done this, and she sent, /There had to be another way./ /They had Alpha Red. You, the others ... the twins ... the ark'rai doesn't discriminate. I want to live, Tenel, but as long as you and the children survive .../ Jacen whispered, as she squeezed his hands in hers and cried. "DADDY!!" they heard, and Tace and Allana ran in, dressed in robes, sobbing and kneeling beside their father. "You can't die! We love you ! We need you! I don't know how to be human!" Tace pleaded, and Jacen rubbed his son's still bald head. "An' you're nice gain! You're a GOOD daddy!" Allana cried, as Tenel Ka hugged her. "My little ones ... love is the most important thing, Tace. And Allana ... my brave little princess ... thank you ..." Jacen breathed ... and Tace and Allana shared a look, held hands, and touched Jacen's chest. LIGHT - pure, innocent Force energy, cleansing and born of love - flooded Jacen, as Tenel Ka added her power to the instinctual healing. Almost 30 years ago, a pair of Force strong Solo twins saved a Jedi from death. History, Tenel Ka thought with elation as Jacen gasped and sat up, was not always a terrible thing to repeat. He slowly smiled, tearing up joyfully and hugging her and the twins ... Their hair had returned; flowing red locks for mother and daughter, shaggy brown for father, and shaggy reddish brown for son. Tace ran a hand through his, then asked, "Can I get mine cut like Ben?" They all started laughing, then, not stopping until the sun rose and the Bothans left. The Djo-Solos were finally free, and it was wondrous. ----------------------------------------------------- Somewhere ... else: ----------------------------------------------------- Betsy hadn't believed the voice when she heard it ... but materializing at the center of a vast arena whose stands were filled with red, white and blue costumed sentients, along with a platform high above with an elfin, black-haired girl and an arrogant platinum blonde woman, confirmed Betsy's surprised realization. ~NOBODY panic! I think we're among friends,~ Betsy asked the others; Luke, Mara, Ben, Han, Leia, Chewie and the droids had crossed over with her and the Technet. To the crosstime nexus where Betsy's father had been born. To Otherworld, basepoint of the Captain Britain Corps, whose gathered members pointed, gasped, whispered and occasionally smiled at the newcomers. The Skywalkers, Solos and Chewie looked around, quiet but defensive, and Luke asked, "Betsy, what is this place?" "And how do any of the locals breathe in those outfits?" Han asked, eyeing the Captains critically until Leia elbowed him. "A hall of justice, Master Skywalker. You and yours are in no danger, I assure you. I am Roma, Omniversal Guardian and administrator of the Captain Britain Corps, guardians of their respective Earths," the elfin girl called. She smiled as she added, "And of course, we welcome Elizabeth Braddock. You have come far, old friend." "My thanks, Roma. If I might ask, my student and godson, Ben Skywalker, is being unfairly harassed by the Technet," Betsy said, glaring at Gatecrasher, who crossed her arms and looked disdainful, while Ben gulped. "Our remit clearly allows for preservation of reality in the case of interference by cosmic threats, Your Authoritiness," Gatecrasher said, smiling. She winced when the blonde at Roma's side snapped, "Your remit DOES NOT allow for interference with causal time flows, much less working for a HUTT! I, Opal Luna Saturnyne, Ominversal Majestrix, declare the Technet to have violated Crosstime Ordinance -" "THANK you, Saturnyne. We get the point. Gatecrasher, you and the Technet are hereby ordered to desist in your pursuit of the Phoenix Host of Timeline 773, one Ben Skywalker, IMMEDIATELY," Roma ordered, and several burly Captains Britain escorted the Technet out of the arena, as Gatecrasher's followers grumbled. Ben hugged Betsy in relief, then shyly asked, "Your ... er, Guardianness ... is there any way to get the Phoenix out of me, please?" "Unfortunately, or fortunately, young Ben, your mother's bloodline is bound to the Phoenix. However, Elizabeth should be able to teach you to block the entity's more ... demanding moods. And you may be able to transfer the Phoenix some time ... but I can say no more," Roma said, as Saturnyne looked nervous and Betsy arched an eyebrow. The telepath did ask, "Roma ... I don't want to leave my friends, my ... adoptive family. But is there some way to at least contact ..." Roma did smile at that, and said, "While you are still needed in the wider Milky Way galaxy for a bit longer, we DO have someone whom you might find ... interested ... in your current events." Betsy's heart leapt, as HER twin bond flared to life with amazement and hope ... and a flash of light deposited seven VERY familiar sentients, three female and three male humans, and one dragon, near the Jedi and company. The tallest - a male Captain Britain - removed his helmet and asked, "Roma, WHAT - " Then Brian Braddock saw Betsy Braddock, and the twins slowly smiled, not daring to hope ... but all it took was a mental touch, and they cried out joyfully and wordlessly, hugging and laughing and holding on, while the rest of Excalibur-773 looked on, happy and shocked all at the same time. "How - that COSTUME - and - those people - SHIELD said there was a wormhole where you vanished, but - you're older than me!?" Brian asked, as Betsy laughed and greeted Meggan, Nightcrawler, Amanda Sefton-Wagner, Shadowcat, Pete Wisdom and Lockheed the dragon. "That is a VERY long story, little brother. But yes, my foster family there ARE real, ARE from our timeline, and ARE from our galaxy," Betsy said, smiling at the Skywalkers, Solos, Chewie and the droids. "Aunt Betsy, THAT'S your twin!? He's HUGE! Like, Wookie sized!" Ben gasped, and Betsy laughed. "Aunt ...?! Betsy, you're a ... !?" Kitty gasped, and Betsy grinned at her younger friend. "Jedi Master. Ben Skywalker, here, is my godson and my second Padawan. And he saved me from a Hutt, AND he's the Phoenix Host," Betsy said, putting an arm around Ben, as Kitty's eyes widened and Betsy ignited and shut off her lightsaber. The phaser squealed in a VERY teenaged way, despite her actual age of 28, and Wisdom groaned, "I'll never hear the end of this. I HATE those bloody movies." Then Excalibur looked closely at Mara, and Kurt warily asked, "Elizabeth, as glad as we are to know you're alive ... why is there a very ... Jeanlike ... lady there?" "Then I AM from your planet!?" Mara snapped, and Betsy sighed as Excalibur looked shocked. "This is Mara, Ben's mother, and Luke's wife. AND, we believe, a lost Grey sister, kidnapped as an infant by agents of Darth Sidious," Betsy explained, and Kurt and the others relaxed a little. At least until Kitty squealed, "LUKE!!! THE LUKE!!! AHH - and Han, and Leia, and Chewie! And the droids !!! Sorry, just ... then there must be a ... FALCON!!! AHH!!!" Betsy suddenly remembered; the Angel's Wing and Neal were gone, and with them ... she quaked; the coordinates for Earth were lost. Ben pulled something from his belt, handing it to Betsy, and said, "The datachip from the Chiss - I kept it when you asked me to copy it, and Artoo copied it, too." "Vrwoot brwoort twooo," Artoo added, and Betsy laughed and cried, hugging Ben in relief. "You BRILLIANT lad! The chip contains hyperspace coordinates for Earth, and allegedly has a file on Mara's kidnapping," Betsy explained, and Ben hugged Mara when she rocked on her heels, while Brian and the rest of Excalibur looked surprised. " ... it's all real ... but you're somehow older ..." Brian worried, and Betsy nodded, hugging him. "A question: What year is it, there?" Betsy asked. "Nearly the third full week of April, 2008. Approaching 10 months since you vanished," Brian said, and Betsy shivered ... as much in relief as in pain. "The wormhole DID throw me back in time. Brian, I've spent almost 16 years criscrossing the known galaxy, fighting alongside the New Jedi Order and looking for a way home. The Sith and a new Confederacy are threatening untold trillions of innocents. I hope you understand ..." Betsy said, releasing him and standing with her other family. Brian managed a smile, tearing up as Betsy did, and said, "We have to stand against the dark." "I knew Captain Britain would understand," Betsy said, as Meggan rushed to hug her sister in law. "Be careful. And come VISIT!" Meggan insisted, bringing a smile to Betsy as Kurt, Amanda, Kitty and Lockheed also hugged Betsy, while the usually hardbitten Wisdom looked around and offered a smile. "Soon. And I promise, more introductions next time ... Roma?" Betsy asked, as the Omniversal Guardian nodded. "Nar Shaddaa?" Roma asked, and Betsy returned Luke's nod. "Betsy, any messages!?" Kitty asked, and Betsy smiled sadly. "Tell Warren and the others that I'm still fighting," Betsy said, as she and the Skywalkers and Solos began to teleport. It was the hardest moment of Betsy's life, and when the grit and sleaze of Nar Shaddaa came back into view, she barely kept from crying ... until Ben and Mara hugged her, and Mara said, "Thank you. But what you just gave up ..." "Family IS more than blood. And I won't abandon you, ever, certainly not in the middle of ..." Betsy began; but it was too much. She broke down, then, and Ben, Mara, Leia, and then Luke, hugged her, supporting her, as K'urod and the others caught up with them, relieved and concerned. Betsy would be all right; her tears were as much relief as they were pain. She'd never been alone. But now, home knew SHE was alive. "When Krayt is beaten, we're gathering as many as you want, and storming the Unknown Regions. I swear it, Betsy, we WILL get you home," Luke promised, and Betsy laughed and hugged him and the others, all of them. Even Threepio. "Then, my family and friends, let's shake the gates of Korriban," Betsy said, beaming again. "The dark side needs a good thrashing ... "And I can't WAIT to see the X-teams' reaction to you all." ------------------------------------------------------- None of the Jedi or other heroes noticed a middle aged human male and a younger man, in disturbingly scant gold bikinis, trying to sneak away from the ruins of Gardulla's fortress. "'Trust the Twi'lek girl,' you said! She drugged us, sold us, and we were drugged to dance for a HUTT! AND we're STILL handcuffed!" an outraged Cal Omas growled at Dur Gejjen. "SHUT it! This wasn't MY fault! YOU were the one with the Twi'lek fetish back on Vulpter!" Gejjen snapped ... and they froze, as a Merr Sonn blaster was aimed at them by a slightly scorched Ewok with black and white fur ... who had a Kowakian monkey lizard on his shoulders. "Yub-casha!" Tarfang laughed, and the former heads of the Galactic Alliance and Confederacy groaned, raising their hands. "Ka-sha! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Salacious Crumb cackled. ------------------------------------------------------- Fel Estate, Nirauan, Outer Rim Territories, Galactic North: ------------------------------------------------------- Jaina felt SOMETHING was going ... better. Mom, Ben, Uncle Luke, Aunt Mara and Betsy had returned from ... wherever; Jasa and Tenel Ka and the twins were really happy; Ani and Tahiri were OK ... and there was her news from the medical droid, and her own senses ... She smiled playfully at Jag as she rested after the battery of tests, and she said, "Twins." Jag managed not to look ... TOO pleased, and said, "And ..." "A boy ... and a girl," Jaina continued, and Jag let his control slip, grinning. He composed himself, and said, "I expected no less." Jaina swatted him with one of the stuffed dianogas Soontir had run out and bought, and they giggled. Life, at least for a while, was good. And looking better. ----------------------------------------------------- Jedi Praxeum, Ossus, Outer Rim, Galactic East: ----------------------------------------------------- Anakin and Tahiri checked over the shuttle, which now was more for helping with Vjun's evacuation; Booster had diverted the Errant Venture, and the Star Destroyer had been mostly emptied as a means of helping evacuate the former Shaped Ones. Anakin was both happy that the Shaped Ones were human again, and worried for Jasa; his big brother was totally back in the light, but that kind of Force use could stress a body. If the twins hadn't healed Jacen ... And something else was bugging Anakin; the Force felt ... heavy ... "Hey. Commed your folks; they rescued Betsy, or Ben did, and they got coordinates for Betsy's home planet. They know about Jacen and the others, too. They're going to Vjun," Tahiri said, hugging Anakin from behind. "Thanks. You ... feel a disturbance in the Force?" Anakin asked - and then the stormclouds broke, and the proximity alarms went off. "DOZENS of unidentified ships inbound! Running design through databanks - Emperor's black bones! They match ancient SITH designs, fighters AND cruisers! Reading at least a DOZEN heavy cruisers!" Corran Horn called from the main command tower, and Anakin cursed. Well, he'd WANTED to finish what they started on Korriban ... and then, a shocking, if welcome, voice, rang over the coms: The Ossus skies filled with familiar craft, and Tahiri and Anakin grinned, running for their StealthXs with other young Jedi. The Wookies had arrived. ----------------------------------------------------- tbc ...