Onslaught: Dark Tide I

by Michael A. Stackpole

  One of the Tough pilots nodded. “We could also slave our missiles to targeting data coming from some of the freighters. We pop up, deliver the missiles, then scoot away or line up another shot. If we vector shots in over densely packed troops, we could do serious damage.”

  The leader of Rogue Squadron nodded. “As a plan modification, it’s simple and works. Good. I’ll get slicer droids coding up a sim for this strategy and see how it runs. You freight pilots are going to need to see if you can modify your sensor packages to provide the telemetry our missiles need, but that shouldn’t be hard. You’ll be shooting your guns by hand, though, since your sensors will be occupied—at least, at range. When the Vong get close enough that we won’t be torping them, you really won’t need sensor data, but you can have it.”

  Gavin chewed his lower lip for a moment. “Look, all of you, this is not going to be an easy fight. Normally we pilots get to cloak ourselves in tradition and the romance of single combat amid the stars. The kind of snubfighters we pilot killed the Death Stars and have downed lots of Imps and pirates. We often take pride and even solace in the fact that those we face in combat are our equals in skill. It’s a fair fight.

  “This won’t even be close to a fair fight. Once we scrape fighter cover off the ground troops, we’ll be slaughtering them as fast as we can. Scatter shots from the lasers may only burn paint from a fighter, but they’ll broil a warrior in a second. It will not be pretty. What it is, though, is necessary.”

  Gavin nodded toward a viewport that looked out over the refugee camp and the fires lit to stave off night. “It’s necessary because those people out there aren’t warriors. Many of them might have blasters, but if they ever have to fire them, it’s because we’ve failed. Safeguarding those people, adults and children alike, is more important than our survival. That doesn’t mean that you should be stupid out there, but courage will sometimes demand you be a little less than coldly rational and sensible.”

  He snapped to attention and brought his hand up in a salute. “You know your duty. Get sim time, get sack time, and be ready. When they come, we have to stop them. Nothing more, nothing less will do.”

  Jacen stood behind one of the dirt-and-fiberplast-debris breastworks thrown up around the camp. His watch had ended a couple of hours earlier. He’d gotten something to eat and tried to lie down to sleep, but remained wide awake. He returned to the line and sent another man off to tuck children into bed. If I’m going to be miserable, at least I can help others not be the same.

  The events of the past week had confused Jacen terribly. His vision had been incredibly real, yet when he went to follow it, he’d run into disaster. The image of his uncle moving into the Yuuzhan Vong camp, wielding twin lightsabers, still played through his head. He’d known Luke Skywalker all his life, and had acknowledged him his Master, but until that point had never really seen Luke the way others had. Luke’s greatest triumphs had been accomplished well before Jacen had been born, so he always knew Luke was a legend, but never had a way to see why he had been a legend.

  The display he had put on had impressed Jacen, as had his uncle’s weakness after the display. It seemed to age Luke terribly to have used the Force so directly. Once on the Courage, the autopilot had been set, and Luke retreated to meditate and recover from the ordeal, leaving Jacen to tend to the cut on his own face. The youth lifted a hand and touched the scab, which was the one tangible reminder of how close he had come to becoming a Yuuzhan Vong slave.

  Without it, I might not believe what had happened.

  “Don’t pick at the wound, Jacen. If it gets infected, you could end up with a nasty scar.”

  The young Jedi Knight turned and gave Danni a smile, despite how the expression tugged at the scab. “A scar would make me more dashing, don’t you think?”

  She cocked her head to the side and looked at him, then pursed her lips and shook her head. “You don’t need it. You’re perfectly handsome as it is—provided you get rid of the worry in your eyes.”

  Jacen blinked. “Not worry, just confusion. And it shouldn’t be that evident, unless you’re reading me through the Force.”

  “I have been practicing what Jaina has shown me, but I’ve mostly been focusing on light lifting and keeping my feelings to myself.” She hugged her arms around her middle. “In becoming attuned to the Force, I’m suddenly aware of how sloppy folks are with their emotions. Some people are just buckets of emotions, sloshing all over the place.”

  Jacen reached out through the Force and could feel a tingle of fear over Danni. “You’re keeping things to yourself pretty well, though fear shouldn’t be one of them. Fear leads to hate—”

  “I know, it’s a step on the path to the dark side.” She exhaled slowly, then moved up beside him on the rampart and stared out into the darkness. The firelight flashed gold from her hair. “They had me once, and I don’t want to be their prisoner again. I couldn’t stand it, I just couldn’t.”

  “They don’t make a good impression on their guests, do they?”

  “No.” She turned to look at him, half her face hidden in shadow. “I wish I could be brave like you. You joke about being a guest.”

  “It’s joke or cry, Danni.” Jacen leaned forward on the breastwork. “You know being brave really isn’t that much of a trick. Most of the time courage is just ignorance of what’s really going on. I didn’t have time to be scared, and you didn’t really, either, when we were escaping. You weren’t, then, when it counted.”

  “But I am now. I just feel fear everywhere. It’s all over.”

  Jacen slowly nodded. “There’s a lot of fear in the camp, yes, and some out there.” He pointed into the darkness. “You can probably feel it. It’s a weird buzzing in the Force. Uncle Luke and I learned to associate it with Yuuzhan Vong slaves. The Yuuzhan Vong do something to their slaves. I’m assuming that whatever troops they send against us, the first wave will be slaves of some sort. They will be expendable and let the Yuuzhan Vong test their methods against us without killing too many Yuuzhan Vong warriors.”

  “Do you think we will win?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t see that we have a choice. I could say yes, but if I’m wrong, we’ll not be around to discuss it.”

  Danni raised an eyebrow. “No hint of the future through the Force?”

  “No, and I’m not sure I’d believe it if there was one.” Jacen sighed heavily. “I don’t know what to think. Two weeks ago I thought that the only way for me to reach my true potential as a Jedi was to retreat, become a hermit, work on my connection with the Force. Now I see that there is a need for me as a Jedi to help people. I can’t tell you how good it felt to be able to save Mara and Anakin. Out there the Jedi might be held in contempt, but here the few of us are being looked upon as saviors. When my uncle wanders through the camp, you can feel pride and hope swell. There are kids using sticks and making a buzzing sound as they duel with mock lightsabers. It may just be people grasping at any hope in so dark a time, but being able to provide that hope makes me feel good.”

  “So you accept that a Jedi has responsibility beyond his relationship with the Force?”

  “I’d not thought about it in exactly those terms, no, but I guess I’d have to answer yes.” He shifted his shoulders uneasily. “Still, I wonder if I’d somehow had a stronger relationship with and understanding of the Force, I’d have been able to know where my vision went wrong. Uncle Luke says the future is constantly in motion, so the vision might have been correct right up to the point when it wasn’t because of something someone else did. If it had gone right, we might not have been here and able to save Mara or Anakin, so I have no argument with how things turned out. Still …”

  “Still, you want to have a better grasp on the Force. If it is the path you are to follow, you want to learn how the trail is blazed.”

  Jacen turned toward her and smiled. “I guess that’s it, yes.”

  Danni nodded, then coiled a strand of blond hair around a finger. “Perhaps that path y
ou seek is just like the future, constantly in motion. Perhaps this stretch demands you provide hope to these people, and another will let you go off on your own. When you come to a decision point, you can leave off one path and head out on another. Only your past experience can guide you.”

  “Yeah, and I don’t have that much experience, do I?” Jacen shook his head. “It sounds as if you’ve thought a lot about the Force.”

  “Not the Force, just life. I’ve had to choose courses, too. We all do. I could have stayed on Commenor, gotten married, had children, but instead I applied to the ExGal Society and got posted to Belkadan. If I survive this ordeal, perhaps I will get the chance to revisit that sort of decision.”

  Jacen felt the hint of a flush on his cheeks. “You want to get married and have children?”

  “If the right man comes along, it’s possible, yes.” She shrugged. “With all that’s going on, I don’t really know if I can trust my emotions. Gratitude, fear, curiosity—all these things are mixed up in me.”

  “But there is no one you are seeing?” Jacen felt the question hang in the air for a second, then crash down all leaden to the ground. He knew it was ridiculous for a woman five years older than he was to even give him a second glance, but … She did say I was handsome … Still, she sees me as a boy, I’m sure …

  “Romance was pretty much a part of my life that I’d deferred until later. Perhaps later is now, I don’t know.” She gave him a smile. “Were you a bit older, or me a bit younger, and circumstances altogether different, I don’t know. I mean, I have feelings for you, Jacen, but they’re all mixed up with everything. You’re so thoughtful, bringing me the holographs and mementos from Belkadan. You can’t know how that made me feel …”

  “With all that’s going on, you don’t trust your feelings?”

  Danni nodded. “Liquids under pressure don’t boil when they should, and emotions tend to act the opposite way. I think you are wonderful, and I treasure you as a friend. Anything else, well, as you said, the future is constantly in motion.”

  Jacen felt a twinge of hurt. Growing up at the academy, he’d certainly had his share of crushes on other students, but Danni was the first woman he’d been attracted to outside of that setting. He agreed that having been pressed into close quarters with her in a rescue capsule had certainly gotten them acquainted with a degree of physical intimacy that wasn’t usually associated with first meeting someone. He’d entertained his fantasies about her, but also realized they were as much tied up with the traditional romance of a hero saving a damsel in distress as they were anything else. Reliving how my father met my mother …

  Her gaze searched his face. “I’ve hurt you, haven’t I?”

  “Jedi Knights do not know pain, Danni.” Jacen gave her a brave smile. “In times like this, a friend truly is a treasure. Given what is going on here, and with my life and yours, being friends is probably the best thing possible for us.”

  She reached up and stroked his right cheek with her left hand. “That’s a very mature answer, Jacen. You’re very special indeed.”

  “Thanks, my friend.” Jacen sighed and turned to focus on the darkness. “Friends tend to bring the best out in me.”

  Anakin stopped as the door on the cabin used by Mara and his uncle Luke slid open. Luke emerged and smiled at his nephew. “She’s resting for the moment.”

  The boy nodded. “I won’t disturb her.” He pointed back over his shoulder down a passageway. “I’ll just—”

  “I’d like it if you would walk with me, Anakin.”

  Anakin caught a slightly distant tone in his uncle’s voice and recognized it immediately. “Yes, Uncle Luke.” He dropped into place a half step behind Luke, on his left. Anakin had learned that was the proper position for a right-handed apprentice; that way, if he were to draw and ignite his lightsaber in a sloppy way, he wouldn’t accidentally bisect his Master.

  Luke glanced at him and grinned. “I’m glad to see you up and around. The Yuuzhan Vong did their best to carve you up.”

  Anakin shrugged. He could still feel bacta patches affixed to some of the cuts; the superficial wounds were not serious enough to warrant a complete dunking for him. “A Jedi knows no pain, Master.”

  “But a Jedi knows gratitude.” Luke stopped, then turned to his nephew and rested his hands on Anakin’s shoulders. “You did a wonderful job taking care of Mara. She’s told me all about it, and I am very proud of you. I never thought sending you with her would demand so much of you. I’m ashamed to say that if I knew what was going to happen, I might not have sent you. Now I am glad I did.”

  “I wasn’t going to fail you, Uncle Luke. I wasn’t going to fail Aunt Mara.” Anakin shrugged and hooked his thumbs in his belt. “I just did what my mission required. I’m sorry I couldn’t save the Sabre or the blasters and other things we had on it. If I’d thought—”

  “No, Anakin, no reproof. What you did was the best that could be expected.”

  “You’re being too generous.”

  Luke shook his head and gazed down at his nephew in a way that sent a thrill through Anakin. “When I had a vision of where you would be and where we would find you, I knew that a million different things could change that future. If you had faltered just a step, if you had paused or thought to quit, Jacen and I never would have been able to save you. You did exactly what you needed to; this time, as well as when you saved your father at Sernpidal. And your willingness to make that last stand for Mara …”

  The Jedi Master lifted his chin. “In that moment you blazed so brightly within the Force … you were dazzling, and try their best, they never could have struck you down.”

  “Wow.” Anakin blinked. “I mean, thank you, Master.”

  Luke laughed lightly. “As your Master I am grateful for your actions as a Jedi apprentice. And you have my personal gratitude for your saving my wife. Unfortunately, this is not the sort of situation where ceremonies are easily arranged.”

  The boy drew himself up as straight and as tall as he could. “Master, this apprentice merely asks that he be allowed to fight at your side.”

  Luke stroked Anakin’s hair. “Don’t think of that as a reward, Anakin. Were it within my power, I would make it so you never again had to fight. Standing and killing, risking your own life—this is something I’d prefer none of us ever had to do. I will let you fight by my side because, truth be told, this situation demands it. I will also have you fight because I know, no matter what the situation, you have the heart and the intelligence to do whatever needs to be done to safeguard others.”

  Anakin felt a thrill shiver through him. “That sounds like a reward.”

  “Not from my point of view.” Luke sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to convince the Yuuzhan Vong that my point of view is the right one, so they’ll realize there is no reward for their actions.”

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Night had fallen thick and hard before the first warning was sounded. The troopers Admiral Kre’fey had sent down to help out with the situation had set up remote sensor pods that picked up the infrared energy the Yuuzhan Vong gave off. Once the first alarm came through, two TIE-wings from Tough Squadron went up for a quick recon of the area where the sensors had reported movement.

  Gavin had watched the TIE-wings take off and head south. They became distant pinpoints of light to the naked eye, but situated in his cockpit, he was able to follow them on his primary monitor. He listened to their comm chatter and heard one pilot’s voice strain as he saw a long column of Yuuzhan Vong coming in.

  Out there, five to six kilometers distant, reddish ground fire reached up toward the fighters. They were able to avoid it fairly easily and still managed to report back what they saw. “Multiple contacts, command. Ground troops on foot, as well as two large vehicles and twelve smaller ones. Gravitic anomalies and plasma cannons on the big ones, plasma cannons on the smaller ones. Air contacts coming on now. We’re scooting.”

  Gavin hit a button on his co
mm unit. “This is Rogue Leader to all Rogues. Light them up. The enemy is out there, and we’re going to pulverize them.” He keyed in his ignition sequence and waited for his power and weapons systems to go green. “Catch, monitor base tactical frequency and flash the button when there is an emergency.”

  The droid warbled a positive reply.

  Gavin shunted power to his repulsorlift coils, then nudged the throttle forward. Once he was up and moving, he clicked the switch that locked the S-foils in combat position and ruddered the fighter around to 180 degrees. “One flight on me.”

  Multiple clicks came over the comm channel to acknowledge his command. Catch started painting multiple enemy contacts in the air ahead of them. Looks like they have two squadrons of skips up. I have to like the odds and just have to hope we can make the best of them.

  He quadded up his lasers and dropped the aiming reticle on one of the skips harassing a returning Tough. Gavin hit the secondary trigger, spewing out a hail of red energy darts. “Tough, break port.”

  The ugly cut to Gavin’s starboard, and the skip swerved to keep on the TIE-wing’s tail. Gavin ruddered around to starboard and kept the skip in his sights. At the same time Nevil sprayed the skip with scatter shots, Gavin hit the primary trigger and sent one full-power burst of laser fire into the skip. The black hole being used to pick off the Quarren’s shots did warp the flight path of the bolts Gavin had triggered, but managed only to draw them in toward the dovin basal creating the black hole.

  The bolts hit and burned through the coralskipper’s stony flesh. Something evaporated in a burst of steam, then the skip’s aft began to drop. Seconds later the last of the laser bolts burst from the other side of the craft. For a half second the skip hung in the air, its nose pointing skyward, then Nevil’s second flicker-shot barrage stippled the skip with glowing red points. One must have hit a dovin basal, killing it, because the skip then plummeted from the sky and crashed unseen into the ground below.