First Contact

[Trenton Vinh]

At over two kilometers long, the luxury liner Kylantha's Jewel was perfectly suited for accommodating the five thousand passengers currently lounging in its many casinos, spas, shopping areas, exercise rooms, and exotic restaurants.
Captain Sheik'sa smiled as he stared out across the huge bow of the cruiser. The bridge sat on a raised pillar at the back of the ship, the nose extending forwards underneath the viewports.
Sheik'sa's eyes crinkled when he smiled, his wrinkling face not hiding his age.
At sixty-three, he was Haj Shipping Lines' oldest captain, and he ran a tight ship.
Had he been a passenger aboard one of these cruise liners, he would expect top notch service and quality, and he did his best to make sure his passengers got what they paid for.
Sheik'sa took some time away from the bridge to stride through several of the restaurants. It was dinner-time, and many of the travelers were sitting down to enjoy some of the millions of meals the yacht offered, from thousands of exotic and distant planets.

The captain took his time passing through the Selttiks Lounge, a popular bar in the ship, cause he enjoyed the music. Tonight was a bothan trio, playing a new popular tune.
The captain mingled with a few of the nobles in the cantina for a bit, before turning to grab a drink and watch the dancer's.
Having lived on Coruscant since he was a boy, Sheik'sa knew quality cantinas when he saw them, and this one was certainly the best of the best.

Sheik'sa lifted his glass to his mouth, but just as the cool liquid touched his lips, the huge cruiser jerked suddenly, knocking the glass out of his hands and spilling it onto the crimson-carpeted floor.
A few people yelped, some toppling over. Echoes of other people's cries could be heard throughout the cruiser.
Sheik'sa took just enough time to help a patron up, then began to sprint back towards the bridge.
His comlink beeped before he even got out the door of the cantina, and he pulled it to his lips, talking as he ran, his breath raspy, "What happened?" He asked.
The bridge officer in charge during his absence responded to him, her voice shaky and "We were interdicted, sir."
"Pirates?" Sheik'sa asked.
"That's what we thought, but... we don't quite know what pulled us out of Hyperspace, sir. It looks like a piece of rock.."
Captain Sheik'sa frowned in annoyance, hoping this was some kind of bad joke, but soon he heard explosions and screams coming from across the ship. Moments later alarms blared and his comlink beeped again, this time someone screaming about being boarded.
Sheik'sa began to panic, as his elevator slid steadily up towards the bridge.
As soon as the doors opened, he sprinted over to the comm officer and shouted, "Send out a distress sig-" He was cut off when a mutilated hand covered with strange growths backhanded him and sent him reeling.
The Captain toppled to the floor, crying out in pain. He felt blood drip from his cheek.
He turned and climbed to his feet to face his attacker, and found himself face-to-face with the most disturbing creature he had ever seen.
The monstrosity he faced was humanoid, but his two-meter tall body was covered in black full-body armor. In one hand was what looked like a rigid snake, the other hand dripped blood, which Sheik'sa realized was his own.
The humanoid in the armor's face was hideous. He had an elongated forehead, no hair, and his lips looked like they had been torn off.

Captain Sheik'sa muttered, "Wha-what do you want f-from us?"
When he...it, opened its mouth, its voice was a deep rasp, and he was heavily-accented, as if basic was far from his native tongue, "Your Galaxy."
Sheik'sa took a step back and felt a sharp pain in his back. His hands flailed behind himself to feel for what had struck him, and found a small dagger had been buried to the hilt in his spine. The Captain took a rattling breath and dropped to his knees, as blood pooled at his feet.
He stared up at the attacker, who was striding around the room, as helpless Officers were stabbed repeatedly.
The Comm officer yelled, "I got the signal off, sir!" moments before being impaled by a meter long staff.
Sheik'sa smiled, his teeth covered with blood, his eyes shining, "Just you wait..."
The attacker tilted its head as if in mock sympathy, "For what, human? For your pitiful military to save you?"
Sheik'sa's smile widened, but it was more of a grimace, "Not the Military...The Jedi."
Having been raised near the Jedi Temple On Coruscant, and having seen the Jedi when they fell, and their eventual return to save the Galaxy, Sheik'sa had great respect for them, the way he said "Jedi" was in a revering, worshipful tone.
The boarder seemed to smile...without lips it was hard to tell, and he said, "We shall see what these...Jeedai can do. No doubt they stand no chance, against the unstoppable wrath of the Yuuzhan Vong."

[Trenton Vinh]

Roth and Trenton stared incredulously at the emotionless face of Jedi Master Evgani Issus, as he said in a casual tone, "We cannot stage an act of war on a species we have never yet made contact with, regardless of warnings or threats. We just do not have enough information."

Roth was angry, pacing the Jedi Council Chamber, Trent stood still as a statue in the center of the room. Roth said in an agitated tone, "We need to find some of them then! We cannot just sit here and discuss morals and ethics while the fate of the Galaxy rests in our hands! These, Yuuzhan Vong are no doubt the same ones that slaughtered and trashed the science outpost on Belkadan, and the same ones that have been capturing and kidnapping innocent people! They are obviously hostile, we cannot wait for them to make a move against us!"

Jet watched the pair of Rogue Jedi with a trace of amusement in his eyes, as if he was waiting for one to snap.
Trent said quietly, "At least let Roth and I go establish contact. We will be better suited against them if they do try anything, and being Jedi, we will be able to negotiate properly."
Jet almost laughed, "Are you joking? We wouldn't dare send you two as diplomats to meet a new race. You would no doubt scare them off. Or set them off."

Trent glared at Jet and said, "That's an unfair statement. Just because your personal feelings for us are bitter does not in any way mean we are bad diplomats. We can still be Jedi. Whether you like us or not."

Several Jedi Masters looked at one another warily.
Ben, Tiverian and Mulfurion were standing in the doorway, looking shocked to see Trent and Roth being so alienated by the Jedi Council. Tiverian was nodding slowly, but Ben and Malfurion looked livid.
Finally, just as Trent opened his mouth to speak, the Council Room intercom came on and a voice said, "Masters? We're receiving an urgent transmission, patching it through now."

Several static-filled voices could be heard in the background of the transmission, and the man who had sent the transmission was mumbling under his breath into the microphone, obviously trying not to be heard. His shaky voice said in a panicking tone, "They've boarded us...they're killing the crew members one by one...This is the Luxury Liner Kylantha's Jewel, we have over five thousand passengers aboard, civilians. We are unarmed, and these boarders are wielding weapons I've never seen before. Their ships look like they are made of rock..."
Static fizzled through, and moments later a bloodcurdling scream could be heard, before a crash and several voices. Little could be heard for a few minutes, then there was a rumbling sound, and a voice said in a raspy tone, taunted "Come get your people back, Jeedai."
The transmission died out.

Trent had already turned to leave, Roth at his heels. Jet and a few of the Jedi Masters opened their mouths to speak, but Trent turned and cut them off by yelling, "You can stay here and debate all you like, but as long as there are civilians in danger aboard that cruiser, Roth and I are going to help them. Morals or ethics won't make a difference. They are obviously threatening us, and we need to stop them before more people are killed."

Jet said, "Its most likely a trap! They will be expecting you! The entire ship will be locked down!"
Trent nodded, and Roth answered before he did, "Then we will have to tear it apart, piece by piece."

The two Jedi left at a brisk pace, leaving The Jedi Masters looking stunned, Ben and Malfurion looking angry, and Tiv looking satisfied.
Ben turned to his friend and said, "I'm going with them."
Malfurion nodded, "Roth will let me go with him. Hurry."
Tiv said, "You can't just go! Jet will kill you!"
Ben shrugged, "I'd rather that than stand around here and let the people on that cruiser die. We can do something about this. This is our first chance to make a difference as Jedi, instead of sitting around talking about it like the other Masters do. See you when we get back."

Malfurion and Ben followed Trent and Roth quickly, while Tiv watched them walk away, his discipline the only thing keeping him from following them.

[Ghev Dralin]

Lictor-class battleship 'Hammerfall'
Hyperspace
Destination: Unknown

Mira popped a ration pack from her belt, and examined the small cubes and sachet of liquid warily.
"They don't make these things appetising enough" she grumbled in a small voice; for the past six hours, she and Darryn had been trying to reserve oxygen.
Darryn looked up from his helmet, and grunted in response, before returning his attention to his work.
"Any luck?" Mira asked.
"Nayc, ner vod" he sighed, putting his helmet down. "Nothing on any freq. Either the rest of the ship is maintaining comm frequency, or there's too much interference down here to make a connection" he reasoned.
"Or they're all dead" Mira suggested.
"Someone was alive to put this ship into hyperspace" Darryn reminded her, to which she had no argument.

A moment passed, in which Mira and Darryn did nothing but swallow ration cubes, and listen to the sound of their own breathing.
Then.... an explosion sounded from somewhere in the depths of the ship, and both Mira and Darryn were thrown from their seats, landing in a tangled heap on the floor.
"What the..." Mira started, then was thrown to the floor again as another explosion tore it's way through the ship.
Darryn tried to stand, but the ship had begun to vibrate so intensely he was unable to.

"What's happening?" Mira shouted over the noise.
"I don't.... know" Darryn said, as the vibrating ceased, and the ship seemed to revert to it's normal state.
Mira seemed wary of standing, but after a few seconds, both of them were on their feet. Darryn grabbed his helmet, and passed Mira her own.
"Oxygen will be out soon, better have these ready" he advised.
Mira nodded, and placed her helmet over her head, sealing it.
"Ner vod, are you playing that awful music again?" she asked, smacking the heel of her palm against her helmet.
"No?" Darryn said, confused.
"I'm getting something.... I'll put it across to you" she said, and activated the helmet uplink.

Mira and Darryn listened, trying to make out the transmission; or at least, they'd discerned it to be a transmission.

"Dar... Mir... ou ok? Co.. in, I re..eat, ar... ok?"

"That sounds like..."
"The Commander, I know" Darryn said, tuning his helmet receiver to try and clean up the signal.

"Darryn, Mira, are you ok? Come in, I repeat, are you ok?"

Mira and Darryn glanced at each other, and both seemed to relax, relieved that they'd established contact with the bridge crew.
"This is Darryn, we're fine" Darryn responded.
"Just finished a slap up meal, where were you guys?" Mira asked, clapping Darryn on the back.
"Dealing with the fireworks on the bridge" Commander Dala said; his voice sounded grave.
"Think you could get some oxygen cycled into the rear hangar?" Darryn asked, and the comm went silent. Mira thought they'd lost contact, but Kaden Dala spoke again.

"That's a negative. We've lost life support in the aft section of the ship, and she's locked down good and tight" he explained. "We've also lost our hyperdrive, and the back-up is too damaged to even micro-jump" he said.
"Gimme more good news" Mira sighed, rolling her eyes inside her helmet.
"The ship is falling apart. The computer reports a fuel leak in the primary thrusters, engines are over-compensating which means they'll burn themselves out... and we can't access the aft to make the repairs or even lock them down by computer".
"Where are we?" Darryn asked.
"Nav-computer puts us in the Chommell Sector. Closest planet is Naboo, but at this rate we'll burn up before we get there".

Darryn glanced at Mira; We're fracked, he thought. Well and truly fracked.
Mira moved into the cockpit, where she could see into the hangar outside.
"Do you have any ships aboard?" she asked.
"Nayc Captain, all our ships are out searching for you" Kaden replied, almost laughing at the irony.
"As soon as they reach the rendezvous point, they're dead, if the Yuuzhan Vong are still waiting" Darryn murmered.
"The what?" Kaden asked.
"We'll explain later" Mira said, moving toward the hatch of their shuttle. "The hangar doors have manual overrides, I'm assuming?" she asked, as she popped the hatch, and stepped outside. Her helmet's oxygen back-up kicked in, and a small timer began counting down in the corner of her HUD.

"The manual override is located in the control tower" the Commander explained, and Mira looked around. Operating in zero-gravity felt alien to her, but she'd have to adapt. She located the tower, and kicked herself off the deck, firing her jetpack to give her a boost.
"What you planning, Mira?" Darryn asked, floating alongside her.
"If we can get the doors open, we'll be able to crawl our way along the ship" she explained.
"And then what?" Darryn asked, failing to see her point.
Mira went quiet; she hadn't thought that far ahead.
"Ner vode, you're 700 meters away from the nearest maintenance hatch. Even if I could get someone down there to open it, that part of the ship is too unstable" Kaden explained.
"Okay... okay, I'm open to suggestions here" Mira said, as she reached the control tower's upper window, and extended the gripper blades in her gauntlet, hooking herself onto the ledge.

"There's a series of missile launch tubes at the prow of the ship" Commander Kaden Dala explained. "If you find a way to get there before your oxygen runs out, I can override one of the launch tube doors to open. It'll be tight, but it'll get you into the ship".
Mira and Darryn exchanged glances, then Mira aimed a wrist-rocket at the glass, shattering it. The shards slowly and silently scattered, floating in the air. Both Mandalorians clawed their way inside; dead bodies were strewn around the control centre. Mira didn't want to know how they'd died, though she imagined most of them had suffocated, and lacked the means of shattering the transparisteel to escape the control tower.
"Okay, manual over-ride..." Mira muttered, scanning consoles.
"Found it" Darryn said, and put his hand to the lever.
"Wait..." Mira said. "We're never going to make it to the front of the ship, we'll expend too much oxygen".
"I have a suggestion" said a voice in Mira's ear. It was the Commander again.
"I'm open to even the worst ideas at this point" Mira responded, and Darryn relaxed his grip on the lever.
"Look at the storage racks in the hangar, in the ceiling" the Commander advised. Mira swam through the air, and peered outside, looking up. At first she couldn't make out what she was looking at, then she realised.

"Basilisk War Droids. Can we get them online?" she asked, excitement in her voice; excitement, and refreshed hope.
"We can't activate them from here, but you can each activate one. They're independant, but will follow orders" Kaden said.
"Darryn, get up there and activate two of those things" Mira said, as she took hold of the manual over-ride, and pulled.
The hangar doors slid open, and Mira half expected to feel a rush of air and be sucked into space. But the hangar was already devoid of oxygen, and what little had been left was sucked out as the doors first cracked. The hangar was just as much a vacuum as the void outside, which was why she didn't hear Darryn's approach until he spoke into the helmet comm.
"Look what I found" he said, and she turned. Two war droids, both configured for flight mode, hovered outside the shattered window on silent thrusters. Darryn clung onto one, while the other waited for her.
"This... had better work" she muttered, climbing onto the droid, and hanging on as it turned and slowly jetted toward the open doors.

****************

Super Kyramud-class warship 'Galidraan'
Orbiting Coruscant

The tension among the fleet had heightened over the past couple of days, to the point that people had begun using their recreational time to perform their duties, just to take their minds off things.

That was before the disappearance of the 'Hammerfall', and the pilots leading the search and rescue mission. After Commander Dala had failed to report in, Ghev had refused to send any other ships to the Tingel Arm. His peers applied the pressure to send a scout, and so Ghev had reluctantly ordered a scout shuttle to the 'Hammerfall''s last known position. The shuttle didn't return.

Now, the bridge was silent, waiting on a decision from Ghev and Deej, who were huddled around a tactical display, speaking through their helmet comm's on a private frequency.
"We have to get our people back" Ghev said, slamming his fist on the table, sending a flicker through the display screen.
"I know Ghev, but we're running out of options" Deej sighed. "At this point, we have to assume we're dealing with this... enemy".
Ghev stood up straight, then turned away.

"Where are you going?" Deej asked as Ghev began to walk, but Ghev stopped a few paces away, and activated the comm on his command chair.
"We need some out of the box thinking" Ghev said. "That means someone who isn't one of us". He sent a transmission to Jon and Aeolan, on the same frequency he'd used during the civil war.
"Ner vode" he began. My brothers - an honorific he rarely used with outsiders. "Us bucketheads are having a hard time planning a search and rescue, figured we could use a couple of arrogant Corellians to throw things into perspective. Or out of perspective, whichever works. 'Galidraan''s doors are open, feel free to drop in".

Deej expected Ghev to return to the tactical display, but instead, the Mand'alor changed frequencies.
"I asked the jetiise to keep us informed, concerning Orla" Ghev muttered. "Since we handed her over, I've heard frack from them. Can't say it wasn't expected, though" he sighed. As the comm established a connection, he spoke, sending it as a recorded message rather than bother to speak directly with the Jedi council.

"It's Mand'alor Dralin. We were told we'd be informed if any news came to light, about the mysterious disappearances. I... we would appreciate a little info, even if all you can tell us is that nothing new has come up. Dralin out."

[Roth Fenix]

Roth watched Malfurion and Ben spar in the Valkyrie’s training room. The Valkyrie had been both Roth and Trenton’s form of transportation since they rescued the Council from Tython. The burns and scrapes of battle was evident on the Corvette’s hull.

Tiv had stayed behind on Coruscant, waiting as the Council had wanted.. Roth had always wondered how Malfurion and Tiv could have formed such a close bond over their years in the Jedi Temple. Malfurion had the same personality as Ben, loud, aggressive, ambitious, whereas Tiverion was their polar opposite, quiet, patient, always following the Jedi’s regulations.

Roth turned his attention back to the duel, Malfurion had just backflipped over Ben’s head after the latter had tried to swipe at Mal’s neck with his training saber. Malfurion landed behind Ben and ducked another sweep to Malfurion’s head. Malfurion brought his training saber around and struck Ben on his hip.

Ben jumped back at the shock the training saber gave off. The two Apprentice’s deactivated their training sabers and bowed to one another.

Roth nodded at Malfurion and Ben, “Fantastic, both of you have learned much over the passing of time.” He looked at Malfurion, “I believe you are ready to take the next step my Apprentice.” Malfurion nodded at his Master, his face stayed calm, but his emotions were swirling with pride. Roth left the training room and walked back up to the bridge.

Roth saw Trenton sitting at the front of the bridge. He turned back towards Roth, “we’ll be there in less than a standard minute.”
Roth nodded and moved his hair out of his eye with his right hand. He sat next to Trenton and watched the ship decelerate to normal space.

Trenton looked at the ship’s long range sensors and adjusted the Valkyrie’s course towards the distress signal. He looked over at Roth who sat deep in thought. Trenton then broke the silence, “what do you think of the Council’s decision on the situation?”

Roth turned to Trenton slowly, “Jet is nothing more than a deluded fool. He holds on to the older teachings of the Jedi to closely, he thinks waiting or biding his time will help while our aggressors seek to destroy us.” Roth shook his head, “the only ones with any sense on that Council are San and my father.” He paused to look down at the scanners, they were getting closer, “Reyne seems to be pursuing his own agenda and the rest are followers of Jet,” Roth paused again, his face seemed to sadden, “even my mother.”

Trenton nodded in agreement, “my thoughts exactly, but I’m not sure about Reyne, he seems…more complex then what meets the eye.”

Roth shrugged and looked out the viewport. His eyes widened, “by the Force…”

Trenton looked up and his eyes tightened with shock.

In the space ahead was the two-kilometer long luxury yacht, Kylantha's Jewel. The hull of the yacht was scarred and burnt through. Surrounding the yacht were several large ships, all made of an organic looking material. They seemed to pulse with life, but in the Force, they were completely invisible, as if they were devoid of Force energy.

Roth reached out through the Force towards the yacht. Kylantha's Jewel was filled with the multitude of lives it ferried throughout the galaxy. Roth focused more intently on the luxury-ship. Even to one that was attuned to the Force such as Roth, it felt as there was barely anything there, like a large void in the Force, but the powerful Kiffar felt a strong presence among a group of those who had little connection with the Force.

Roth broke his trance and looked over at Trenton, “there’s a Force user on that ship,”

Trenton nodded silently, having already sensed the same thing. He turned to Roth, “He may be from the Brotherhood, or possibly a Jedi from the yacht, either way we need to find them.”

Roth nodded, “I’ll bring the ship in as close as I can to the hangar, then we have to find a way into that ship.” Roth’s gaze drifted to a charred chunk of hull near the engines, “We can try that if we find the opening.”

Trenton nodded in agreement as the Valkyrie flew towards the Kylantha's Jewel. Whatever awaited the two Rogue Jedi on the ship, they were ready for.

*****

Aeolan sat back in the seat of the Faith Arrow watching the swirling blue of hyperspace as he had done so many times before and sighed, “I’m hungry.”

Jon’s voice crackled through, Aeolan had left on his squad-wide comm., “didn’t you pick something up on Coruscant?”

Aeolan could have ended the conversation there, but wanted to keep the squad in high spirits after the disaster that had happened earlier, “well if you didn’t volunteer our asses to get back out here I would be in my apartment with a nice meal, a holozine, maybe even that girl who works at the ‘Smawo Brother’s Café.”

Jon laughed a little, “maybe at Sernpidal you can pick something up.”

Aeolan shrugged, “hopefully some Nerf-Steaks or some Corellian Spiced Cake, either would be beefcake.”

Jon seemed at the edge of laughing again, “where in the galaxy did you pick up that word?”

Aeolan coughed then said, “while I was taking a short vacation at the Jubilee Wheel, don’t ask for details.”

Vortex decelerated from hyperspace above the planet of Sernpidal. The spaceway’s were littered with traffic, many traders importing their goods and merchants of Sernpidal exporting theirs. Vortex flew down towards the surface of the planet, looking for any possible clues on what had destroyed their friends.

[Trenton Vinh]

In the void of black space, the huge superstructure of the renowned luxury vessel Kylantha's Jewel drifted silently. Its outside was burned and scarred, some parts melted through. Debris drifted alongside it, having been torn off when the ship was pulled from Hyperspace and disabled.

Outside, the ship seemed dead and devoid of life. A myserious fleet of unknown origins surrounded it, seemingly dead as well.
Trenton Vinh knew the occupants of the fleet were not dead, merely waiting. For what, he did not know, nor did he care. All that mattered for now was that it gave him and his Jedi Strike Team the chance to board the cruiser and assess the situation. If things began to heat up, he had a plan in mind.

His comlink beeped, a message from Ghev. He winced when he realized they had not reported to him. Too distracted by the developments, he had neglected to thank the one who had supplied them with the key to the information they now held.
He told Roth, Malfurion and Ben to get into EV suits, and turned to look out the bridge viewport as the Valkyrie moved ever closer to the ship they would soon board.
He opened a comm channel to Ghev and said, "Dralin, this is Trenton. We regret forgetting to message you, and in retrospect it was a very amateur move. However, we have some important info, Jet has it for you if you need details. For now, we have a situation. A fleet of ships...similar to the ones you and Vortex have encountered have disabled a luxury cruiser. Roth sensed approximately four thousand civilians on board..." Trent neglected to add the words that were close to his lips 'and a Jedi'. He continued, "The alien fleet is currently unmoving and most likely waiting for something, what we do not know. We are boarding the ship to begin to help the civilians, however, I have the feeling something is terribly wrong. I may need you to go to....anyone who can send us a fleet for backup if its needed. We can't let these innocents die. If you can get some backup for us, or prepare it, I'll send you our coordinates. If not, we will find a way. I'd ask Jet, but the Jedi have insisted on discussing the moral issues surrounding what is no doubt an invasion. Thank you for the prisoner, she explained quite a bit. As I mentioned, Jet has a datachip with the information on it. Comm me if needed. Vinh out."

He returned the comlink to his pocket and set it to vibrate, assuming stealth would be a necessity, and couldn't have it beep unexpectedly.
Within a few minutes, he was in the back room with the other Jedi, all in their EV suits. As Trent pulled his on over his robes, Roth began to tell Ben and Malfurion the ground rules.

"Do not be rash. Follow Trenton and I. If we say run, run. If we say duck, get the hell down. You get the point?"
The boys nodded, and Trent could feel their anticipation tinged with fear in The Force.

The Valkyrie beeped, indicating it was magnetized to the hull of the luxury yacht.
Roth looked at Trent as they pulled down and sealed their EV helmets, "Ready for the spacewalk?"

*****

Commander Bryne'kst Durik of the Yuuzhan Vong waited silently on the bridge of the heretic ship, that its passengers referred to as the "Kylanthas Jewel". He stared into the villip that was molded to match the face of Warmaster Krilluuk Vek. Bryne loathed being aboard the metallic contraption that the species of the Galaxy relied on, but understood the importance of the mission.
As if reading his next thought, Warmaster Krilluuk Vek spat in his rough voice, "The so called, Jeedai are boarding. Is everything ready?"

Commander Bryne'kst nodded, his deep voice replied slowly, as if he weighed every word, "They are prepared to die in order to assess the threat. I have my doubts as to the power of these Jeedai."

Krilluuk responded with a slight nod, "They are revered, therefore they must have some strength. They would not be so worshipped if they were weak. I see this as a waste of our forces. We are giving our warrior's lives to answer a question we already know. The Jeedai are a threat. Whether or not they have any notable power that could harm us is irrelevant. They must be exterminated along with the rest of the Galaxy's inhabitants."

Bryne would have smiled, had he had any lips. He had torn them from his face when he was given the rank of Commander, as an offering to Yun-Yuuzhan, the God who had sacrificed his body to create the Galaxy.

Krilluuk asked, "Did your men make their sacrifices to The Slayer God?"

Bryne nodded, The Slayer God Yun-Yammka was the God of War, and all Yuuzhan Vong Warriors were to make sacrifices to him as often as possible. Bryne himself had used a Ceremonial Dagger to skin his left hand as an offering of flesh.
The wound was extremely painful, and felt exquisite.
Yun-Yammka had been pleased by the offering, and had sent the Jedi on their way, right into Bryne's waiting hands.

Bryne was jerked from his thoughts when the Warrior Villip said, "The Jeedai will make contact with our first sentry momentarily, Commander. We shall see how they fair against the might of Yun-Yammka, The God of War!"

Bryne nodded, and Warmaster Krilluuk followed suit.

Soon, Bryne thought, Soon we will assess this threat, and then we begin our invasion.

*****

The Spacewalk had been uneventful, and the four Jedi soon stood in the engine room of Kylantha's Jewel.
They stripped off their EV suits, favouring the freedom of movement and silence their Jedi Robes offered them.
Trenton had opted to leave his cloak, and wore merely a black sweater over black trousers. Roth had a black sleeveless shirt with a low slung belt housing his blaster pistol and lightsaber.
Malfurion and Ben both wore Padawan Robes, light in colour and plain. They looked anxious, and their emotions were displayed openly in The Force.

Roth looked at them and said, "Conceal your feelings lest they be used against you."

The boys nodded, and their emotions became slightly less noticeable in the Force.

Trent pursed his lips and indicated in the direction towards the turbolifts to the main decks.
They drew their lightsabers, kept them unlit but in hand, Roth held his lightsaber in an underhanded grip, his blaster in his free hand.
Trent tapped the key to call the turbolift. It dinged obnoxiously, and they stepped inside. Trent assessed the layout of the ship, and tapped the key to take them to the dining level.
Ben asked, "Hungry?"
Roth replied with a deadpan voice, "Judging by my calculations, it was around dinnertime for most travelers when the ship was taken over. That means that most passengers are probably there."

Ben nodded, and the lift doors slid shut silently.
As soon as they closed, the lift began to ascend at a leisurely pace, and Roth began to move. He thrusted his palm upwards, and the emergency hatch atop the lift burst open. Trenton and Roth jumped through the hole, soon followed by a puzzled-looking Ben and Malfurion.

The four now stood in a kilometer-high turbolift shaft, standing atop the lift as it moved upwards.
Trent said, "That door will open up in the open. If its a trap, they will be waiting for us with blasters at-the-ready."

Roth added, "If they use blasters."
Trent nodded.
The lift slowed as it neared its destination, and then stopped. It dinged loudly again as the doors slid open, and a series of thuds could be heard as several blunt objects collided with the back wall of the turbolift.
Malfurion frowned and mouthed the words, "Not blasters."
Trent nodded and looked up. A mere dozen meters above them was the closed door to the next level. He waved a hand and the doors opened. Trent jumped up and rolled through the doorway, leaving the blackness of the turbolift shaft and stepping into a brightly lit casino.
Empty.
Roth, Malfurion, and Ben landed behind him as silently as ghosts.

Within minutes, they had scoured the casino level for staircases. They found one on either side of the casino.
Trent looked at Roth and said, "You and the Padawans go up a level and keep looking around for anything interesting, I'll check the restaurant level below us. Hopefully they aren't guarding every entrance."

Roth nodded and said, "Be careful. I'll be there in an instant if I sense you're in danger."

Trent nodded and said to the boys sternly, "Listen to Roth. And be careful."

The two young Jedi nodded, and Trent turned and strode down the staircase.

As he neared the bottom of the stairs, he lowered his stance into a crouch. He moved slowly, making no sound. His clothing didn't rustle. He gently slid open the door a crack, and took a glance through it. Nothing directly in front of him.
He slid through the door stealthily, the door slid shut noiselessly behind him.
He found himself on an elevated viewing platform, used for passengers or security to patrol the area and get a bird's eye view of the entire area.

There was a meter high colored glass railing, and Trent sprinted along it, keeping his head down to avoid detection from the people on the level below. He poked his head up for a moment to take a look around, and saw close to a thousand civilians, all looking scared and helpless, huddled together in the center of the restaurant plaza. Surrounding them were dozens of doorways to numerous restaurants.
Judging by the looks the people gave the only two humanoid's standing, those were the boarders.
The Yuuzhan Vong.
The two warriors were tall and lean, muscles rippling under their black armor. They both held staffs, but every once in a while the staff would hiss and move its thin body a bit, snakelike. Trent frowned, "Living weapons?" He muttered under his breath.
One of the guards was about a hundred meters away from Trenton, standing near the Turbolift the Jedi had ridden in earlier. The doors to the lift were still open, and Trent could see several rounded objects stuck in the back wall.
He made a mental note to try and remove one of the objects if possible, it would give them a clue as to what kind of projectile weapons these mysterious invaders were using.
The only other guard was standing close to Trenton, almost directly underneath him.
Trent eyed them warily. Unsure as to what kind of combat prowess of powers they wielded, he wasn't so sure he wanted to jump down there and attack them.
However, with several thousand civilians nearby, chances are they would jump at the chance to overwhelm the guards.
Why they didn't already try was a question easily answered. To the far right side of the room, a pile of bloody corpses lay in a heap.
As Trent watched one of the Yuuzhan Vong guards yelled something in a harsh spitting tongue to the other. Trent had no idea what he had said, but guessing by the gestures, they were about to execute another prisoner.

The guard closest to the elevator turned away for a moment, and the other guard grabbed an attractive female human from the group of passengers.
She didn't make a sound as she was yanked to her feet and thrown to the ground.
The guard stood over her, as the passengers stared in fear, and the Yuuzhan Vong raised his snakelike staff weapon over his head. The staff straightened to a point, and Trent realized he couldn't wait to attack.
He put his right hand on the railing and threw his legs over it, vaulting over it and dropping the fifteen feet to the gound behind the Yuuzhan Vong guard.
His lightsaber ignited with a snap-hiss, and several onlookers gasped in awe, surprise, and hope. The two Vong guards turned, the closest one Cried, "Jeedai!"
The second guard began to rush over, Trent could hear his heavy footsteps.
But he was focused on the warrior closest to him, who still held his weapon over his head. The Vong slammed his staff down towards Trent's head, point first.
Trenton dodged to the side, and the staff buried itself six inches into the durasteel floor.
Trent stabbed his blade, one-handed, into the gut of the Vong. Expecting his lightsaber to burn through the armor, Trent found himself a bit surprised when his lightsaber fizzed and the armor began to smoke.
Lightsaber Resistant, it'd take several seconds of pressure to burn through that, Trent thought.
He withdrew his lightsaber as the second Warrior came in behind him, swinging his staff at Trenton's exposed back.
Trent threw himself into a forward roll, behind the Vong warrior who was pulling his staff from the floor.
Trent remembered the weak points in most armor. Back of the knees, hips, neck, underarms. Trent buried his blade to the hilt in the back of the Vong Warrior's neck.
The warrior tried to scream, but it came out as a raspy growl. the warrior collapsed upon his own staff, falling to the floor slowly.
The second warrior did not seem to take notice, and stabbed at Trent's waist. Trent couldn't move quickly enough, and the head of the staff, aptly shaped like a snake's head, nicked his left hip, wounding him. Trent felt teeth bury themselves in his hip, and looked down to see the now-animated head of the staff biting him.
The weapon was a living organism.
He grabbed the head of the snake with his left hand, then swung his lightsaber arm at the Vong warrior's head, the pommel making contact with skull. The vong Warrior collapsed, and Trent was quick to drive his blade through the Warrior's eye socket.
He pried the creature from his waist with difficulty, and threw it away. It landed against the far wall and slithered away. Trent looked over at the woman on the ground, "You alright?" He winced.

He turned to everyone and said in a pained voice, "Remain calm! There are more Jedi on the way. Extraction will arrive soon. Please stay where you are."
He felt his left leg weakening slightly, and he limped over to the turbolift, where he pried one of the small objects from the wall. It looked like a tiny bug, it was circular and fit in his palm. He pocketed it, and turned just as Roth, Ben, and Malfurion entered the room. They saw blood staining Trent's dark clothing and hands, and Ben rushed over with a medkit.
Roth had a wild look in his eyes, and Trent could tell Roth had just made contact with the Yuuzhan Vong as well. Ben and Malfurion seemed unhurt, so Trent assumed Roth had handled everything well.
He looked at Ben and muttered, "I think there's venom in it.."
Ben looked up at him worriedly, "The Medkit doesn't have a anti-venom in it.."

Trent paled a bit, the pain increasing. He said shakily, "I can slow it temporarily, but cannot expel it with The Force with my injuries."

He lowered himself to the floor, back resting against a pillar. His legs sprawled out in front of him. The crowd of people were getting restless, and most, including the girl Trent had saved from slaughter, stared at Trent and the other Jedi.

Trenton drew his comlink and clicked his channel to Ghev, "Dralin.." He said weakly, "If you have access to that fleet I mentioned...now would be a great time to come in all guns blazing. Otherwise, get a strike team to board the ship. I'm wounded. Poisonous." He turned off the comlink and rested his head against the stone pillar, his vision grayed for a moment. He blinked and said to Roth, "Keep an eye out for more. I suspect there are many more than just these two."

[Ghev Dralin]

Super Kyramud-class Battleship 'Galidraan'
Orbiting Coruscant

Ghev paced the bridge, contemplating his next course of action. He'd received a message from Trenton, explaining that a team had been dispatched to aid a civillian cruiser from a potential 'alien' fleet. He'd also been told that the information he sought was currently residing in a data-chip with Jet, and been asked if he could find support for the Jedi now on their way to rescue 4000 civillians.

Naturally, Ghev's first instinct had been to call the Mandalorian fleet positioned at Mandalore, and the reserve fleets performing routine patrol over Concorde Dawn and Shogun.
And naturally, Commander Tracyn Velor had had something to say about it.
"We have our own missing people out there, Mand'alor" he'd hissed, as though Ghev needed reminding. "Perhaps you forgot about them, now that you're such good friends with the di'kutla jetiise"

Ghev had snapped, grabbing Tracyn by the collar of his armour, and slamming him into the bulkhead, holding him off the ground; despite his slight frame, Ghev was not lacking in strength.
If Deej hadn't been on the bridge, Ghev doubted the situation would have calmed; as it was, Deej convinced Ghev to cool off, while he relayed the message to the Mandalorian fleets.

Then, the second message had come through, and Ghev realised they were cutting it short. With a silent apology to his missing people, he ordered all ships to execute a hyperspace jump to the given co-ordinates on his mark.

************

Lictor-class battleship 'Hammerfall'
Chommell Sector
Critically Damaged

Mira was keeping a close eye on her oxygen reserves; they were quickly depleting, though she knew she'd be dead by now if she'd attempted to scale the length of the ship without assistance.

That assistance came from the machine beneath her, an intelligent machine designed primarily for war; a Basilisk War Droid. It's heavy brawling claws were now propelling it along the hull of the 'Hammerfall', though Mira was unsure whether or not it was a wise idea to add such force to an already critical ship.
"Mira, we're almost at the prow" Darryn said into the helmet uplink; she looked ahead, and saw the front of the ship coming into view.
"Commander, we're coming up on the prow, we need that missile tube opening up" she said, as her droid kicked off from the ship, and circled around to face the massive missile launch bays.
"Roger that captain, launch tube one will be opened on my mark" Commander Dala said over the comm. "Mark".

The missile launch tube opened, and Mira spurred her droid toward it, piloting the war machine as though it were some form of ship; the space was tight, and for a moment she feared they'd never make it through. As the rim of the launch tube drew closer, she ducked her head, and felt the scrape of her jetpack along the upper curve of the tube.
"Shab, this is one tight space" Darryn said, as the door sealed behind them, plunging them into darkness. Mira's night-vision kicked in, throwing the interior of the launch tube into green relief; the inner loading doors were in sight.
"Prep yourself, we're coming in" Mira said into her comm, to Commander Kaden Dala. The doors slid open, and her basilisk climbed into the ship, it's claws slamming loudly into the deck; they were no longer in the vaccuum.

"Welcome aboard, finally" Kaden said, helping Mira down from the droid, as Darryn hopped to the deck.
"Good to be here" Mira admitted.
"Don't be so sure" Kaden sighed. "Come look at this".
After leading them to the bridge, Kaden showed Mira and Darryn a read-out of the 'Hammerfall's systems analysis.
"Our aft section is compromised, hull breaches in our mid section, hull integrity is almost non-existant. One turbolaser bolt and we're space dust" Kaden said.
"How about life support, communications..." Darryn began, but Kaden continued to the next analytical read-out.
"Our long-range communications have been fried, and minor hull breaches are slowly depleting the oxygen in the forward section of the ship. When it reaches critical, the rest of the ship will go into lock-down".

Mira slammed her fist on the console.
"Remind me to have a word with MandalMotors when we get back, I don't like this lock-down thing" Darryn muttered.
"The good news is that we have escape pods. The bad news is that launching that many pods is going to tear apart the hull and rip this ship apart" Kaden informed them, calling up a hologram of the ship's exterior, with weakened points highlighted in red; almost the entire ship.
"How long would it take for a single pod to reach the nearest planetary system?" Mira asked thoughtfully.
"The nearest planet is Naboo. If the navcomputer is correct, it'll take a pod about a day to make planetfall, maybe two days at the outside".

Darryn watched Mira, knowing what she had in mind.
"I need a pod. I have to get this to the Republic" Mira said, opening her belt and pulling out the wad of flimsi she'd received from Verity, the Chiss commander who'd allowed them to escape.
"This won't settle well with the crew..." Kaden murmered, pulling them both to one side. "If they know you're jettisoning an escape pod, they'll all want out. We're going to have to accomodate their needs..."
"But you said yourself that launching all the pods will tear this ship apart" Mira said, careful to keep her voice down.
"So you all get into pods, and we launch them simultaneously" Kaden said, glancing over his shoulder to check on the crew.

"What do you mean, 'you all get into pods'?" Mira demanded. "If you think we're leaving you behind..."
"Then I'd be right. Someone has to launch those pods. Beside, this is my ship" Kaden said, silencing her. "It's my right to go down with her, if I wish. And I'd rather see this ship go down with a bang, than leave any part of her to scavengers or pirates".
Mira sighed, then nodded; not that Kaden needed her approval, as the ranking officer. But he respected her enough to earn her go-ahead.
"This is the Commander" Kaden said into the ship-wide comm. "Every crew member is to get to the escape pods. Do not, I repeat, do NOT jettison your pods. Once all crew members are accounted for, your pod launch codes will be over-ridden. This is to ensure the success of your escape".
Kaden paused, and looked at Mira, then clasped fore-arms with her. "Darasuum kote, ner vode" he said into the comm; eternal glory, my brothers.

************

The Galidraan was the first ship to leave hyperspace, followed a second later by the 'Osiris', and then the rest of the fleet. That fleet was then joined by the Concorde Dawn protection fleet, and the Shogun patrol; three fleet's worth of Mandalorian war ships.

"Trenton, it's Ghev. There wasn't time to wait for a decision from another fleet, so we brought ours. Three of them."

[Roth Fenix]

Jaing Beviin stood at the viewport in the bridge of his Super Kyramud-Battleship, the Vengeance observing the new, alien enemy that had finally reveled himself.

The ships Jaing looked at weren't the usual warships he had seen during the Galactic Civil war. THese cruisers seemed to be made from an asteroid or some type of stone, not mechanical in any way.

Jaing heard the heavy thud of beskar iron on the durasteel floor of the bridge and turned to see one of his officers, Kalledrato, approach him. Jaing nodded at his friend and Kalledrato spoke, "any word from Mandalore Commander?"

Jaing turned back to his screen and after a few moments shook his head, "we're still on standby burc'ya, the Republic is sending a few of their ships to assist us and the Jedi."

Kalledrato nodded and walked back in the direction he came from. Jaing watch him leave and turned back to look out of the transparisteel, thumbing his besk'ed's hilt. He placed his helmet back on his head, still staring at the ships and muttered, "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur."

*****

Dagon Fenix walked down the hallways of the Jedi Temple with his wife Aundria and friend San Xaan. The three of them talked in hushed tones.

San looked over at Dagon, "are you certain there is something wrong? THe both of them are more than capable of handling themselves, just look what Roth did by himself on Dathomir."

Dagon nodded, "i'm absolutely sure, they're both in deep trouble, they're surrounded by a fleet of invaders, the Mandalorians have arrived, but I don't think it will be enough, other action is needed."

Aundria sighed, her flame red hair trailing behind her, "with the presence of the Mandalorians and the Republic they are more than capable of battling the Yuuzhan Vong."

Dagon shook his head, "there's to much we don't know about this enemy. Why are they here? what technology do they use? What are they exactly?" Dagon shrugged his shoulders, "they're in more trouble than anyone thinks they are."

The trio entered the hangar, numerous ships littered the hangar varrying from X-Wing Fighters to Small Frigates. Aundria looked around bewildered and ask, "why are we in here?"

Neither Dagon or San answered, they made their way to a pair of A-Wing Interceptors and motioned for a starfighter crew to prep the craft. As the engineers worked, Aundria stared at them both, her gaze finally rested on Dagon, "where in the blazes are you going?"

Dagon looked back and saw their ships had been prepped and he turned towards the A-Wing and said over his shoulder, "saving my son."

Dagon leapt up into the A-Wing, propelling himself with the Force into the cockpit. Aundria turned to San and blurted, "you're just going to go with him?"

San looked down at Aundria, his face expressionless because of the mask he wore over his mouth and nose, "we can't have two of the Fenix family getting themselves killed in a battle with those who can become our allies. " Dagon concealed his face, hiding his laughter from his wife, San began speaking again, "also, if Roth can get into trouble with Trenton, there's no telling what Dagon can find by himself."

Aundria rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "this isn't the time to joke, a new enemy waits on our doorstep, and the Council has all ready stated that we are not to intervene until we have to."

This time it was Dagon's turn to show frustration, "you would rather have us go unprepared into a galactic war without arming ourselves with knowledge of our enemy? Where has waiting gotten the Jedi Order before? If memory serves, straight into another war that left the Jedi divided and threatened to wipe them from the galaxy."

Aundria didn't respond she glared at Dagon and San as their hatches closed. Dagon looked out of the viewport at his wife and flashed her a smile. The two A-Wings then lifted off and blasted out of the Jedi hangar to the space above Coruscant.

Aundria watched them leave when she heard a voice with a thick accent, "anything wrong Master Fenix?"

Aundria turned and saw Reyne approaching her from behind, his hood concealed his numerous headtails that all Nautolans had. Aundria sighd, "Nothing Reyne, how did you know I was here?"

Reyne looked down at her, "I sensed a...conflict between you and Dagon, hopefully nothing to troublesome?"

Aundria shrugged, "they're going against the decision of the Council, even they can get into serious trouble for doing such a thing."

Reyne stood still, "It is their decision, let them live with it. No one can tell you how to carry out your destiny."

Aundria looked back up at the sky where San and Dagon's ships had been, "I can only hope you are right Master Grakin."

*****

Admiral Sergio Haidoken paced the bridge of the Malevolant Justice waiting for the Star Destroyer to come out of hyperspace at the site of the coming conflict, Kylthana's Jewel.

Admiral Haidoken was the leader of the Third Fleet, also known as the "Valiant Third." The Third Fleet was one of the Republic's most efficient fleets, coming out of every battle victorious.

The Third Fleet was made up of the Rebel Fleet that had fought at the battle of the Death Star that had marked the turning point of the war. The Valiant Third also spearheaded the Liberation of Coruscant, knocking out the Imperial space platforms and disabling some of their capital ships.

A voice came over the Malevolant Justice's speakers, "decelerating from hyperspace now, destination reached."

Admiral Haidoken looked out the viewport to the change of scenery/ Instead of the mechanical ships he had expectec, the new enemy's craft seemed to be a type of asteroid more than a ship. The craft didn't show any signs of ion engines or turbolaser batteries.

Admiral Haidoken turned to his Communications Officer, "patch a channel to Ghev Dralin, inform him we are here and are ready to provide support."

The Admiral turned back to the viewport looking at the enemy once more, he stood steadfast, watching, waiting for the enemy to make the first false move.

****

Commander Ans Bawi sat on one of the crates of supplies in the Malevolant Justice's hangar. On his lap was his Corellian Heavy Destroyer, he made adjustments to the weapon's nozzle and fixed the scope's angle on the gun. Satisfied with his work, he reassembled his gun and looked at the rest of Epsilon Squad.

Koronos sat polishing his sniper rifle cope. On his black armor he had painted on a crimson red handprint on the front of his helmet. He looked up and saw Bawi looking for him and gave him a cool nod and continued with his rifle.

Epsilon's tech expert, Sergaent Reyes, sat tinkering with one of Epsilon's small spy droids, refining its holocam.Reyes raised his eyes to meet Bawi's, but immediately resumed his work. Bawi shrugged, Reyes wasn't the most talkative of the Squad.

Lance Corporal Dagon Oparus sat in the middle of the room, rigging a small breeching charge. Oparus looked at his Commander and gave him a double thumbs-up then placed the charge in the squad's pack. Oparus was known by the squad to be Epsilon's "comedian," always treating the situation lightly and making jokes. Oparus was also the squad's demoliton expert.

Next to Oparus sat Corporal Jenkins, rummaging through a box of rations. Jenkins gave Bawi a weak smile then threw a ration bar to Reyes across the room. Jenkins was a good soldier, but he let hsi nerves overtake his instincts during battle. He became a nervous wreck once the kriff started to hit the fan.

Bawi's commlink beeped and Republic Command came through, "get your squad ready, the Admiral reports you're almost there. Be ready for free jump onto the ship, Command out.

Bawi pocketed his commlink and called for the squad to come over to him. Jenkins turned and knocked over the box of Dried Nerf Jerky Sticks, a protein supplement for military who were being pinned in the same positon for days, even weeks. Jenkins grabbed his helmet and blaster carbine and turned to jog over. His foot kicked a pile of the jerky that had fallen on the ground and he fell face first onto the cruiser's floor. Oparus stifled a laugh and obscene comment while everyone else turned their attention to Bawi.

Bawi nodded at all of them, "you all know why we're here, Command says we're going in via free jump. Go grab your jetpacks and meet at the west airlock. Dismissed."

Bawi watched as his squad filed out to gather their equipment, if anyone could gather information on the new glactic threat it was Epsilon Squadron.

[Malaia]

Malaia was just moments away from defending herself against the ships boarder; who had his weapon raised menacingly at her, when the Jedi Knight dropped from seemingly out of nowhere to save the passengers.
At first she didn't recognize who he was. - Just a blur of motion, looking as precise as a surgeon, but also as if he was flying by the seat of his pants, unsure of what he was about to do.
The enemies, who seemed completely devoid of Force Energy, fell beneath his blade within that short minute of combat. Before the boarder collapsed they injured him. Moments after the Jedi retracted his lightsaber, he began to move around with a swagger, by which Malaia was able to tell that he had been poisoned.
As she watched him struggle to keep balance, she then had a better chance to recognize the Jedi. She closed her steel gray eyes, and took a moment to remember his face. - She knew him. She knew him well, but Trenton didn't even know she existed.

Malaia had been following Trenton Vinh for several months, getting to know him through his interactions with others. - Intimidating as a caged animal, Malaia watched him, carefully. The other hundreds of passengers, now hostages, watched him as well.


Trenton was sitting with his back resting against a pillar when the other Jedi arrived.
Judging by the look on the older, wild-haired Jedi's face, he had already sensed Malaia's presence in The Force; just not pinpointed her.
Malaia did not want to expose herself to them, for she would only become the subject of scrutiny and interrogation by the Jedi.
But Trenton was injured, and in his weakened state wouldn't be able to purge the toxins from his body.
Malaia frowned, furrowing her brow at the other Jedi, who was being followed by two padawans.
He gave her a stiff nod, and turned his attention to Trent.
He opened his mouth to say something to him, but just a moment before any sound came out, he seemed to sense something. He turned and ignited his lightsaber, as a series of war cries tore through the air.
The other younger Jedi followed suit, and within several seconds they were rushing to the other side of the room to defend the hostages from more boarders. Malaia had never seen the species that was attacking the ship, she had no idea why they were doing so, but it didn't matter. She had a job to do while the Jedi were distracted.

She walked over to Trenton and dropped to her knees next to him. She tried to work up a smile, but didn't bother. Trent's eyes were unfocused; hazy.
He muttered breathlessly, "Who...you?"
Malaia tore open the side of his robes where the blade had punctured through them, right down to the his flesh, leaving a deep wound. She said in a soothing voice, "Don't worry, I'm here to help. I'm good with poisons."
As Trent's head lolled back, it hit the pillar gently. He did not seem to notice or even care.. As he struggled to ask her, "Force...user....Jedi?"
Malaia shrugged uselessly, "You could say that. Now hold still." Trent stiffened, as Malaia snaked her cold hand under his arm to apply pressure on his wound, he grabbed her arm tightly.
Malaia froze, pursing lips and crinkling her nose at his grip; her eyes wandered up to meet his. - Strangely focused when they met hers, something that would have taking extreme discipline for anyone with this much poison coursing through their veins, or with as bad an injury as his.
Trenton spoke slowly, breathing heavily, forcing out every word. It took great effort, but he asked her, "Can you get the poison out?"
She nodded affirmatively, and he loosened the grip on her arm, letting it fall back to his side, he looked away and tried to relax.
She could tell he was not used to much contact with other humans, she felt her heart sink a little. She could sense he wasn't lonely, and did not care much for romance or love. The Force told her he was a man whose life revolved solely around his duty.
She knew this, but it was comforting to see that Trenton hadn't changed all that much.
Some things never change.
She thought. Malaia glanced towards the other Jedi as the crackling sounds of Force Lightning filled that air. She turned back towards Trenton, focusing on her work and trying to shut out the noise in the world around them.
She closed her eyes, one palm pressed firmly against the wound on Trenton's side, the other against his chest.
His skin was warm, damp, he was sweating. She felt the warmness of the blood pooling at her knees.
She opened her mind to The Force, allowing it to carry her consciousness across the universe and back in the blink of an eye. She felt it flowing, through everything, the ship, the outside plants, the stars surrounding them. Trenton became a beacon of fading Force Energy, and she quickly delved her mind into it, through his body. She felt his beating heart, the flowing of blood, his life force.. Then she found the poison. A steady black trickle of death, crawling it's way through his system.
She let The Force guide her to view the Galaxy on an atomic scale. Malaia could now see the poison for what it was, an anomaly of molecules, an enigma mixed together to form a lethal substance. At this level, the smallest modification could alter the final product. And she intended to do just that. With The Force she could manipulated the atoms. She had done this before, a healer. And she knew she could change the atoms to make the toxin more deadly, change its very purpose, even nullify it. She changed it, pulling the atoms apart bit by bit, and soon the poison was no longer deadly. - Like a dead parasite introduced into the body, she had made the poison much less potent, more like a vaccine.
In time Trenton's body would heal, and the weaker less threatening poison would allow Trenton's body to fight it. Adapt. He would not die, but grow slowly immune. Eventually, he would be entirely resistant to it's deadly sting.

Malaia opened her eyes and gazed at Trenton.
He blinked slowly, taking a rattling breath, as he tried to stand. She asserted pressure with her hands resting on his chest, forcing him back into the seated position, "Keep still. Help is on the way. Let your friends here focus on the enemies."
Trent nodded and asked weakly, "Who are you?"
Malaia frowned, raising an eyebrow.
Already getting stronger? Well that's a surprise, he must be stronger than I remember.
She smirked partially and shrugged, "I'm like you. Don't worry about that now, rest. There will be plenty of time to question me, later."
Trent shrugged, weakly and winced in pain as he tenderly pressed his hand on the wound as Malaia pulled away.

She stood up and turned away from him to watch the other Jedi still cutting down the invaders. She turned back to Trenton only to find him staring at her.
Malaia nodded at him, and smiled slightly. She then moved away to help some of the hostages, assuring them to stay close and not run.. Most seemed to remain uninjured.
Hopefully, the Jedi won't want to take me for questioning. The is no doubt that they will be curious.. Luckily they won't be able to read my mind. The Force Barrier may well be may saving grace. They may not be too hospitable when they find out the truth...[/color]

[Ghev Dralin]

Super Kyramud-class warship, 'Galidraan'
Spearheading the Mandalorian fleets

Ghev Dralin had bided his time for long enough; the 'Kylantha's Jewel' had been boarded long before the Mandalorian fleets arrived, and Ghev had received no contact from anybody aboard since arriving.

"Commander Askara?" he muttered, staring out of the viewport, hands clasped behind his back.
"Here sir" Deej replied, through their helmet uplink.
"Are you back onboard?" Ghev asked. Deej had been assigned to escort Commander Tracyn Velor back to the 'Osiris' as soon as the fleet emerged from hyperspace.
"Affirmative" Deej replied, tensely. Things had been strained between the two since their argument on Coruscant.
"Good, I need you to co-ordinate the fleet" Ghev replied, turning from the viewport and taking up the ship's comm. Transmitting to the entire fleet on an encrypted frequency, he paused before speaking.

"This is the Mandalore. I'm aware some of you believe this is the wrong move, aiding strangers when our own people are missing" he began, remembering the argument with Tracyn.
"The fact is, I feel in my blood that war is coming. A war we won't be able to ignore, a war we won't have any choice but to enter. The more allies we make, the better our chances. Prepare to board the luxury liner".

****************

Escape Pod landing site
600km South of Theed
Naboo
Chommell Sector

Darryn perched himself high up in one of the only trees in the surrounding area to survive the multitude of escape pods that had rained down in the vicinity. It had been lucky that they'd landed out here in the wilderness, rather than in the middle of a city like Theed or Moenia. Adjusting the macrobinoculars built into his helmet, Darryn squinted, examining the horizon.
"There has to be something..." he muttered, turning his head back and forth.
"See anything yet?" Mira called; she was perched on a branch on the other side of the tree, also scanning the horizon for signs of a city or town.
"No, nothing... wait..." Darryn replied, focusing on a white haze in the far distance.
"I'm waiting" Mira grunted; the events that had taken hold of Mira and Darryn's lives had finally taken their toll on Mira's mood.
"I see waterfalls" Darryn announced.
"You want a kriffing badge?" Mira snapped. "We're not here for sightseeing, we're here to do a job".
"Mir'ika, they're the Theed waterfalls, I can make out the city. It's not clear... about 600 kilometers, estimate".

Mira didn't reply, she simply dropped from the tree, using her jetpack to slow her fall, and landed in a crouch on the ground amidst a group of Mandalorians; the survivors of the 'Hammerfall'.
"Okay, we're going places" she said, as Darryn landed on the ground behind her. The group began to gather weapons, and supplies salvaged from the ship before it had been effectively self-destructed.
"No, not you guys. Stay here, incase we need the back-up. Me and Dar'ika can handle this alone" she instructed; technically, she wasn't even the highest ranking officer, but Mandalorians had learned long ago that experience was far more important.
Darryn shrugged, and approached the weapons stash; although most of the arsenal aboard the 'Hammerfall' had gone down with the ship, some heavy duty equipment had been saved. Among the crates of various explosives, some hard-hitting weapons caught Darryn's eye.

Examining a AK-47 Prime rocket launcher, Darryn caught a reproachful glance from Mira; at least, her posture told him it was reproachful.
"Alright, alright" he sighed, putting the rocket launcher back on the ground. "How about this?" he asked, hoisting a heavy repeater M6 Chaingun from the stash, along with coils of rounds.
"How about what?" Mira asked, impatiently.
"M6 compact chaingun, uses light armour-piercing projectile rounds..." Darryn began, but Mira cut him off.
"I know what it is. We're here to warn the Republic about the Yuuzhan Vong, not single-handedly wipe out civillisation on this planet".
"It'd come in handy if we run into any surprises" Darryn countered.
"Fine" Mira relented. "But you're carrying it yourself. And if you start a war here, by the Gods I'll kill you myself" she growled, and began to stalk away.
Darryn pulled the chaingun's strap around himself, hefted it's weight, then followed, giving the men a quick wave.

****************

Ghev stood in the hangar, suited up in his pressurised space-suit, wearing full armour and weapons. Before him, his entire fighting unit - as many men could be spared without leaving 'Galidraan' unoperational - were chanting war songs and preparing for battle.
"Oya Manda!" Ghev roared, thrusting his arm into the air, a long bronzium-coated spear of beskar clenched in his fist. "Get to your droids" he bellowed, and Mandalorians began jetting into the rafters to the lines of activated Basilisk war droids.
Ghev didn't care if he had to tear the 'Kylantha's Jewel' apart in order to strike a blow against the mysterious invaders; but he knew he'd die before he let those di'kute get one up on him or his allies.

The signal was transmitted throughout the fleet, on priority to Commander Velor and Commander Jaing Beviin, ordering all fighting units to saddle up, all squadrons to begin flying perimeter defense, and all capital ships to prepare for guests; if things went smoothly, they'd be taking in a few outsiders for medical attention and evacuation.
Mounted on his personal Basilisk war droid, Ghev looked down at the gaping hangar doors, then ordered his men to charge. Some, he knew, wouldn't be coming back.

He didn't even know if he'd be coming back himself.

[Ghev Dralin]

((I know this is meant to be turn-based, but I wanted to post, and it's been too long. As I can't really update on the Kylantha's Jewel scenario, I'll centre this one around Mira and Darryn))

Mira stood on the riverbank, looking up at the cliff face. The waterfalls of Theed were grand, but she wasn't here for sight-seeing, as she'd told Darryn earlier.
Since escaping from Chiss territory, she'd thought of nothing but getting the information she held to the Republic. Information on the Yuuzhan Vong, information that Orla Orade was supposed to have brought home over 4 years ago.
She hadn't slept since that ordeal; her mind was too busy, her determination too unwavering.
Darryn let out a snore; she heard it through the helmet uplink. Shaking her head, she turned to the night sky, as though somewhere among the blinking stars and the glow of the moon, she'd see the precursor of a Vong attack.

She'd become paranoid; every fibre of her being was being poured into alerting a Republic that she didn't care about, in the hope that she could prepare the galaxy just in time for a full-scale invasion.
Her eyes felt heavy, and her head felt light. Automatically, she released the seal on her left gauntlet and pulled off a glove, then took a stim-pack from one of her belt pouches. After injecting herself in the wrist, she re-sealed her flightsuit and armour, and felt the effects of the stimulants almost immediately.
Something didn't feel right.
Checking her HUD readouts, Mira unholstered her side-arm and ducked into a crouch, shaking Darryn awake.
"Darryn" she hissed when he didn't move, knowing their uplink would cause her voice to sound loudly in his ear. Darryn jumped awake, but Mira forced him to stay low, her hand on his chestplate.
"Stay down, there's something or someone watching us" she whispered; even though her voice wouldn't be heard outside of her helmet, she didn't want to take any chances.

"Have you even slept?" Darryn asked, his voice dry.
"I woke up ten minutes ago" she lied, looking around the terrain, keeping her side-arm raised.
"I don't see anything..." Darryn muttered, sitting up slowly, and picking up the chaingun he'd appropriated from the salvaged equipment back at the landing site.
"Maybe it's the locals?" Mira suggested, flipping her helmet through various visual cycles, still unable to detect anything, until her proximity sensor alerted her to mass movement on her six.
Turning, Mira almost screamed; a rare thing for her to do.
"Kriff this could get nasty" Darryn exclaimed, suddenly wide awake, as hundreds of Nightspiders scrambled over each other to sink their fangs into the prey that had willingly and unwittingly walked into their midst.

"I hate bugs" Mira scowled, backing toward the river, keeping her blaster raised and covering herself. The crowd of Nightspiders advanced, unintimidated.
"Think they're poisonous?" Darryn asked, but his question was answered as a thick, green, tar-like substance landed inches from his boots.
"Shoot now, ask later" Mira instructed, and began firing her side-arm, a heavy shatter pistol, into the ranks of the Nightspiders.
Like Ghev Dralin, she was a firm believer that projectiles were far more efficient than laser bolts, but as soon as the first bang resounded through the night, the spiders frenzied.

Darryn seemed to be struggling with the chaingun, but Mira didn't have time to help, as the spiders rampaged toward her. She emptied her clip into the first ten, killing them, then tossed her weapon aside and unleashed a jet of flame from her gauntlet, which seemed to make the spiders think twice.
Darryn, it seemed, had abandoned the chaingun, though he still held it in one hand, using his wrist-blades to gut and mutilate anything that came too close; but he was in danger of being overwhelmed.
Mira directed her flamethrower toward the spiders advancing on Darryn, but had to quickly turn back as more Nightspiders leaped for her.
Darryn clubbed a spider in it's mandibles with the chaingun, with such impact that he smashed it's head in.
"Get that thing working!" Mira shouted, as her flamethrower expended all of it's fuel. Using the few seconds she had at her disposal, she unclipped both halves of her carbine from her belt, and snapped them together, unleashing it's fury on the horde.

Darryn shouldered the chaingun and cursed as it failed to fire again. Lowering it, he removed the ammo chain, then reinserted it, and let out a yell as a Nightspider jumped at him. Instinctively, he raised the chaingun and fired, and this time, the weapon sprayed super-heated rounds into the creatures.
The spiders chittered and scrambled over each other, their mandibles clicking with fear and excitement as they backed away, driven to defend themselves from the sudden death that was being unleashed upon them.
"Good timing" Mira growled, now able to calculate her shots, and take time to assess the situation.
"Whatever you're planning, do it fast, I'm gonna need a reload" Darryn warned her, letting off short staccato bursts of fire from his weapon.
Mira didn't need telling twice. Keeping one hand on her weapon and her eyes on the enemy, she unzipped her duffel bag and pulled out a string of cryoban grenades. Arming one, she threw them all into the middle of the Nightspider horde. Darryn took aim and fired at the falling grenades; one detonated as it's timer reached zero, another detonated as one of Darryn's armour-piercing rounds punched through it, then the whole string exploded, flash-freezing almost the entire group and splattering them across the terrain.

Mira ducked for cover as the intense light and cold of the grenades surged outward, obliterating their attackers, leaving only a few injured drones to try and scramble back to their nests.
The spiders closest to the front lines scrambled on what limbs they had left, vicious and desperate to finish off Mira and Darryn. Mira emptied her carbine's cartridge, then quickly slapped another one home, picking off the few survivors. Then, a scream pierced her ears, and she turned to see Darryn firing rounds into a Nightspider that had latched itself to his leg. One of it's fangs had stabbed into the narrow exposed strip of flightsuit between his thigh and groin armour.
"Darryn!" Mira shouted, strafing toward him as she downed more and more spiders. One leaped toward her, landing on her, but she spun around and used it's own momentum against it, dumping it's dying body into the river and finishing it with a shot from her carbine.
"Mira!!!" Darryn called out, pain creeping into his voice. She turned, and was almost sick into her helmet, as the spider tore free and ripped off Darryn's leg. An anguished and shocked cry sounded through the helmet uplink, and Mira felt something smash into her side. She toppled down the river bank, found her footing, then slid into the water. Her reserve oxygen kicked in as she sunk into the depths, the limbs of a flailing spider wrapping around her. She jammed the muzzle of her carbine between it's mandibles and fired, it's head breaking apart and it's brains spilling in slow-motion, as the water washed away it's life.

Struggling from the carcass, Mira fired her jetpack, a stream of heated water bubbling behind her as she shot upward out of the river.
"Dar... Darryn" she panted, heaving off her helmet, so she could throw up on the riverbank. Suddenly, everything seemed so quiet. She could hear Darryn sobbing and coughing. Clawing her way up the bank, she made it to flat land, and saw that the only spiders remaining were either dead or too wounded to move. Darryn was a mess.
Somehow, they'd managed to tear off his helmet, and tiny lacerations covered Darryn's face. One of his eyes was swelled shut and bleeding; Mira imagined a Nightspider had sunk a fang into his face after getting beneath his helmet.
"Darryn you idiot" Mira cried, smacking his chestplate and heaving him into an upright position. His chest armour was hanging off, the flightsuit beneath it torn. Mira put her hand into the gash, and felt blood.
"Got the frackers" Darryn said, smiling crimson. Blood gurgled in his throat as he breathed, and Mira's hope of saving him began to ebb away.
"Don't you dare leave me to do this alone" she whispered, shock setting in as she cradled his head to her chest, against her armoured breast.
"You'll manage" Darryn sighed. Mira wondered how he wasn't screaming in pain, then realised the venom must have numbed most of his body. "Do me a favour" he said, turning to look up at her.
"No... I can't do that" Mira said, realising what he was going to ask her.
"Please, Mir'ika... make it quick" he said, coughing up blood onto her armour.
"Darryn, I..."
"We made a pact, remember? Haat, ijaa, haa'it" Darryn said. Truth, honour, vision.
"Mir'sheb" Mira smiled, stroking his blood-matted hair from his face, and putting her forehead to his.
Then, reaching into Darryn's holster, she drew his side-arm and shot him through the temple.

She didn't know how long she sat cradling his body, keeping an eye out for scavengers and thinking about their journey. She felt odd... strangely happy and sad at the same time. The Mandalorians called it aay'han, a state of emotional confusion felt while mourning the dead. She was happy for his life, for the times they'd shared, to have fought by his side, but... now it was over. She was alone. She had to finish this alone.
Thinking of her mission seemed to stir her back into action. She stood, and lifted Darryn onto her shoulders; she ignored the strain, ignored her jetpack as his body pressed it into her lower spine. With a roar, a battle-cry, she threw his body into the river, then fired three shots into the night air, in honour of her friend.
It took her ten minutes to locate his helmet. The Nightspider responsible had died with it in it's mandibles; it's body was riddled with rounds from the chaingun, but on this day, it had been the more resillient fighter.
Mira always imagined she'd die fighting a real enemy. The cold, harsh reality of the universe slapped her hard. There were dangers other than blaster-wielding soldiers, and death didn't just happen to people she didn't know.
Clipping the bloodied helmet to her belt, she looked up once more at Theed waterfalls. The sun was beginning to break the velvet black sky.
"Okay, this is for you Darryn" she muttered, and somehow, she found the strength to break into a run, heading for the cliff.

[Roth Fenix]

OOC NOTE: Sorry for making you think I posted, bu I have no idea what happened to Trent or Malaia, ill see what I can do and i'll ask to auto them if theyre taking an extended break

[Trenton Vinh]

((OOC: Sorry for the absence, life has been making it tough to get the time to write up a half-decent post. I'll do my best to keep up on things from now on.))

Trent felt his strength returning slowly. Like water trickling through a slowly-cracking dam, he felt his strength come back more and more as the minutes ticked by.
He thanked his savior, unsure of who she was or how she was capable of the Force Abilities she had just performed. Very few Jedi he knew could manipulate The Force at such a precise molecular level. He could name perhaps three other than himself.
One of them was dead.
Trent watched her movements carefully, her slender body moving gracefully around the room, as she tended to the hostages. They remained where they were, calmed by her gentle words.
Trent frowned, placing his hands on the floor and lifting his body just enough to move himself against the pillar more comfortably. He was sitting straight up now, no longer slouched numbly. His mind drifted lazily, as he tried to think of who the mysterious Force-User was.
The Jedi Order would no doubt have questions, as would Roth. Trent wanted some answers too, and to thank her.
He stretched out with The Force and could sense reinforcements coming.
Trenton made a mental note to thank Ghev personally for being so swift. No doubt the Jedi would have left him to die.

He rested his head against the pillar, closed his eyes for a split second.
In that single moment, he saw an image of fires burning across a planet filled with towers of steel.
Trent opened his eyes again, unsure if it had been a vision, a random mental image, or his imagination.
He took a slow breath, pulled his legs in close to his chest, and tried to focus his thoughts. He knew for a fact these Yuuzhan Vong were a threat, but why hadn't they just slaughtered the prisoners?

*****
Commander Bryne'kst seemed almost stunned, as the infidel camera monitors showed the single Jeedai slaughter two of his men, recieving injuries in the process. He spat his words to the villip of Warmaster Kriluuk Vek,
"These Jeedai have strength, but as you can see, they are no match for our warriors."
Warmaster Kriluuk Vek shook his head, "He defeated two of ours, unsure of what he was getting into, injured or not, he has proven the Jedi to be a threat."

Bryne shook his head, "We have bigger threats to worry about. I do not think this is worth our time or resources."
Kriluuk grew annoyed, "I am the Warmaster. I make the decision. You would do well to mind your tongue. I believe we should give them more time. Once we have a few more engagements with the natives of this Galaxy, we will be able to establish better who we need to focus on destroying, and who will lay down and accept defeat."

Bryne seemed to deflate, and nodded slowly, "As you wish, Warmaster." He clasped a hand across his chest in a salute, and shut down the villip connection.

Now its time to see how their space fleet fares against our warships... He thought darkly, as he made his way to his shuttle, to return to his flagship and prepare for battle.

[Ghev Dralin]

Ghev's basilisk war droid weaved through space, it's flight repulsors propelling it toward 'Kylantha's Jewel'. Something about the formation of alien vessels - ships? - disconcerted him, but for now his primary concern was getting aboard that luxury liner.
"Okay, boarding party form up on me" he said into his helmet comm, and he spurred the droid onward. The 'Kylantha's Jewel' now filled his vision, and as he neared, he could see through viewports and into the liner itself. Rather than break one open, however, he'd opted for a route that wouldn't endanger the passengers inside.

His droid slammed into the hull, it's brawling claws positioned against the outer airlock.
"Okay, do what you do" he said to the droid, patting it's flank as though it were some kind of pet. The droid raised one of it's brawling claws, then smashed it into the airlock door, putting a considerable dent into the metal. Again and again the droid pounded against the metal, until it had created a gap large enough for it to push it's claws through, and prize the doors open by force.
Metal grated on metal, and for a moment Ghev thought the outer airlock doors would prove too much for his droid. But eventually, the doors parted enough for his droid to slip through and into the airlock.
A party of 15 Mandalorians followed through the gap, suddenly leaving the airlock feeling crowded.
"Okay, lets hope there's nobody on the other side of these doors" Ghev muttered, as he located the emergency release for the inner airlock doors. The doors slid open, and a sudden rush of air almost blew him backward. One of the Mandalorians flew from his war droid and smashed into the bent, twisted outer doors, before being sucked limply through the gap into space.
"Get it together, we can't afford casualties this early!" Ghev barked into the comm, as his droid fought against the rushing winds. Alarms began to blare in the corridor beyond, but there seemed to be nobody around to answer the alert.

As soon as all of his men had fought their way through the airlock and into the corridor, Ghev sealed the doors. Everything was eerily quiet, aside from the whirring of servomotors from the waiting war droids.
"Ok ner vod" he said into his wrist comm, tuned into Trenton's frequency. "We're in. What's your situation?"

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton pulled himself to his feet, but remained leaning heavily against the pillar he had become well acquainted with in the past hour.
Roth glanced at him and asked from across the room,
"You doing okay?"

Trent nodded, Ben and Malfurion watching him carefully. They were no doubt scrutinizing him through The Force, watching his body as it regained its strength now that the toxin had been neutralized. He wouldn't be back to full strength until he had a few hours in a bacta tank, the wound in his hip needed some time to heal.
Roth said, "We're going to search the ship quickly, there were more passengers than just these ones here. Chances are they're being guarded as well. We'll give you a call if we need backup."

Trent opened his mouth to respond, but held up a hand as his comlink beeped, he fished the device out of his robes and held it to his ear.
He listened intently, then tapped the respond key and said crisply,
"I've certainly been better, but I'm still kicking. Roth and the Padawans are going to move about the ship rescuing any other prisoners. That fleet outside is probably gearing up for a fight. It may be best if you get some of your guys down to the engines, see if there's a way you can kick start the Hyperdrive. It will at least get the civilians out of the way if the lasers start to fly. Besides that, we could always try to find a commanding officer on the ship. Chances are there's someone organizing the Vong around here."

He lowered his comlink and called to Roth, "Be careful. Comm me if you need backup, and Ill get Ghev to send a few of his men. I won't be much of a help until I get to a medical droid."

Roth nodded, motioned to Ben and Malfurion, and the trio strode out of the large room.

Trenton sighed and lowered his head, staring down at his blood encrusted palms, praying that this wasn't the opening move of another war.

*****

Warmaster Krilluuk Vek listened carefully to his shaper adviser as he awaited Commander Bryne'kst's return to his flagship. The largest ship in the Yuuzhan Vong fleet at the moment, his ship was a Yuuzhan Vong Cruiser, looking like a half-dozen spheres attached to one another at various points. It was referred to as The Will of The Gods by the warriors that served aboard it. The rest of the ships in the fleet were the equivalent of the heretic frigates and corvettes. But the infidels had yet to learn the weaknesses of the Vong, and the Vong had studied the actions of the Galaxy for many years. They understood the shield systems, and the infidel machines that spat out crimson and emerald beams of fire. The Vong had the advantage of knowledge, and that was all that was needed. However, the Jeedai were a threat in his eyes, and there were most likely other dangers the infidels that infested the Galaxy had in store for them.

Time will tell. And the Gods will guide us to our victory.

[Ghev Dralin]

((OOC - I'll post something longer when I get the time, having a busy week ))

Ghev listened intently, then nodded to himself.
"Roger that, Trenton. Will update when we have news" he replied into the commlink, then tuned out of the frequency.
"Okay, I want half of you on foot, heading for the engine room. Twist, you're our best mechanic, you're leading the squad. If the Hyperdrive is down, fix it enough to at least get us to the nearest friendly star system" he ordered. A Mandalorian in silver and green armour jumped down from his Basilisk War Droid, and chose his team.

Ghev silently plotted their best course of action, and in moments, he had it.
"The rest of you, stay mounted. We're going to the bridge, and we're going to see if this thing is still flyable. I have a hunch we're gonna meet resistance, but we're not negotiating. Shoot first, ask questions later".
"Sir, what if it's civillians?" one of the Mandalorians asked.
"If it's civvies, then it's their own fault for getting in the way" Ghev growled. "Lets move it people!" he roared, his droid rearing high, then bounding down the corridor.

Activating his silent helmet comm, he patched a message through to Commander Jaing Beviin.
"There's been a lot of discord among the fleet, especially between the crews of 'Galidraan' and 'Osiris'. I want you co-ordinating our attack if the enemy fleet decides to get brave. Don't babysit the Republic ships, just take care of our own til we're done here".