Survivor's Quest

There was a flicker of warning from the Force, and he ducked back just as a pair of red bolts blew pieces of the corner past his face.

"Okay," he murmured aloud to himself. So they were closer than he'd realized, and more than just vaguely hostile. That was handy to know.

"Anyone ever tell you that talking out loud when you're alone is a bad sign?" Mara murmured from behind him.

"When the Force is your ally, you're never truly alone," Luke said gravely, turning around and blinking in mild surprise as he caught sight of the girl trailing silently behind his wife. "We have company?"

"So it would seem." Mara gestured to the girl. "You remember Evlyn, don't you?"

"Quite well," Luke said. "Hello, Evlyn."

"Hello," the girl said, a bit timidly. "I'm sorry about... earlier."

"That's all right." Luke looked at Mara, lifting his eyebrows questioningly.

"It's a long story," she said, "and I only have half of it myself. The short version is that Jinzler thinks she'll be safer with us right now than with her own people."

"All right," Luke said, setting his curiosity aside in favor of more pressing business. "Did you get the message from Fel?"

"The one about us pushing the Vagaari back toward the turbolifts?" She nodded. "Pressor's also heard from one of his people back there. It appears that as long as the Colonists stay out of their way, the Vagaari aren't bothering to shoot them."

"Rather have them die slowly, I guess," Luke said.

Mara nodded. "And to that end, they're also apparently scattering line creepers by the bucketful." She hesitated. "We may not be able to save this place, Luke."

He'd already come to that conclusion. "We'll just have to do what we can," he said. "And the faster we finish off the Vagaari, the less of a problem we'll have. Are any of Pressor's people going to be in a position to help when we start our push?"

"Not really," Mara said. "Four of them are inside current Vagaari territory, but I doubt their antiquated blasters have enough power to punch through that armor. Oh, and it turns out that two of the missing Peacekeepers had only been stu

"Happy allies are good to have," Luke said. "Let's keep him that way by telling his people to stay put. Outnumbered and undergu

"Already done," Mara confirmed. "Though one bright side is that they're probably not as undergu

"Makes sense," Luke said. "They couldn't risk the Chiss picking up odd power readings when they went through sca

"Right," Mara said. "Even so, the outnumbering remains." She hefted her lightsaber. "So I guess it's up to us."

"And the Five-Oh-First." Luke paused, frowning as a distant sound caught his attention. "You hear that?"

"Sounds like blasterfire," Mara said, her forehead wrinkled in concentration. "And lots of it."

"Maybe they've decided some of the Colonists need to die right now after all," Luke said grimly.

"Or else one of Pressor's people decided to be a hero," Mara agreed. "Either way, I think that's our cue."

"Right." Luke ignited his lightsaber. The two Vagaari were still there, he knew, but it was unlikely they would be expecting a straight-out charge. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Again," Drask ordered.

Fel nodded and fired again, sending a short burst from his borrowed carbine into the corridor wall a few meters in front of him, listening to the slightly wheezy and very distinctive sound of the ancient weapon. "Anything?"

"They sound agitated," the general said, holding his appropriated Vagaari helmet up to his ear. "Ah—there is an order."

Fel frowned. "How can you possibly know that?" he asked. "You don't even speak their language."

"There is a tone of command that is the same in all languages," Drask said. "Now we need only wait and see if it is the command we are hoping for."

"They're coming," Grappler murmured, cocking his head toward the corner he and Cloud were waiting beside.

"Stand ready." Drask gestured to Fel. "Fire again."

Fel did so, trying to watch both ends of the corridor at once. Between bursts he could hear rapid footsteps approaching...

Suddenly, with a clatter of armor, they were there: five armored Vagaari, charging to what they thought was their comrades' aid. They got off a single, startled volley before the two stormtroopers cut them down.

"Good," Drask said, surveying their handiwork with satisfaction. "That diminishes the enemy somewhat. Where do you recommend we go next?"

"There's a series of emergency battery rooms back that way," Fel said dubiously. "You aren't really intending to try this same trick twice, are you?"

"Not at all," Drask assured him. "It is time to take the battle to the enemy. The other stormtroopers should be in position by now; let us see if we can drive the Vagaari into reach of their weapons."

"Ah," Fel said. "In that case, we probably want the fluid systems service corridor instead of the battery rooms. There are two access panels in particular we might find useful: one opening into one of the cross-corridors on this side of the starboard turbolift lobby, the other door opening into the lobby itself."

"How likely are the Vagaari to have set up pickets at the entrance to this corridor?"

"Not very," Fel said. "It's narrow and probably not well marked."

"And it offers an avenue of retreat?"

"It has doors to both the main engine room and the secondary command complex," Fel told him. "We could hold off a small army from either place."

"Excellent," Drask said. "Take us there."

Cautiously, keeping an eye out for stray Vagaari, Fel led the way through a series of small utility rooms. They reached the entrance to the service corridor, only to find it jammed shut.

"What I don't understand is where they're all coming from," Fel said, stroking his bandaged right arm restlessly as he watched Grappler and Cloud work on the door. "That ship of theirs couldn't have followed us here, could it?"

"It could not, and did not," Drask told him. "But surely now that we know about their suspended animation technology the answer is obvious."

"But if they didn't—oh." Fel broke off, embarrassed. It was obvious. "Those three sealed rooms aboard their shuttle, the ones they claimed were open to vacuum."

"Yes," Drask confirmed. "Though undoubtedly a small portion of each was indeed open to space."

"Right—the part by the door sensor and access port," Fel said, nodding. "Otherwise, a secondary test by your people would have shown that the readings were fake."

"They would have had a secret way to reseal the rooms, of course," Drask said. "That was why they pretended Estosh had been attacked, to give him an excuse to stay behind."

"Only it wasn't just pretending—they really did shoot him," Fel reminded him. "These people are seriously out for revenge."

"Perhaps," Drask murmured. "Or perhaps they are motivated by something more practical."

There was a hollow popping sound from the door. "Got it," Cloud a

"Good," Drask said. "Proceed."

Cloud led the way, followed by Grappler, Drask, and Fel. The corridor was narrower than it had looked on the blueprints, Fel realized with a twinge of apprehension, with barely enough room for the stormtroopers to get through without scraping their shoulders on the piping and access manifolds lining the walls. Far too narrow for any of them to pass any of the others.