Jaina Solo Fel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
solo_sword) wrote2008-08-03 04:32 pm
solo_sword) wrote2008-08-03 04:32 pm
The Exquisite Death, Sunday night Fandom time
Lando had been right, and something had gone wrong before they'd even gotten abaord the Vong ship. Ulaha had taken a coufee to the back during the transfer from the Lady Luck to the Exquisite Death, and while she'd survived it, it meant that the Vong liked torturing her the most.
They'd known going into it that they were going to be facing this. Thanks to Danni Quee and Tahiri, they knew the kind of thinga that happened in custody. The Vong liked to break their hostages, crush their will down to nothing, and they took special pride in being able to do it to Jedi. And as much the meld was supposed to help, it was hard. They were lined up against a wall of red yorik coral, wrists bound to the floor by blorash jelly between their knees, and the torture happened behind them where they could hear everything. One of the Vong, a male commander named Duman Yaght, was in control of the voxyn in the room behind them. He would put them in front of it, face to face, ask questions, go on and on about the things that would happen to them if he allowed it to. Jaina had been asked one question before the voxyn screeched in her face, which led to the discovery that that screech could knock a person unconscious. Between that and the burned skin on her back from the voxyn's acidic drool, she really was not looking forward to going through that again.
Meanwhile, Ulaha never seemed to stop going through it. When her screams stopped, Jaina sort of hoped she'd passed out. They'd return her to her place for at least a little reprieve and move on to someone else. Any one of them would have willingly gone in her place. Unfortunately for Ulaha, Duman Yaght was aware that she was still conscious. "Growing accustomed to the drool, are we, Bighead? We shall have to try something new."
Jaina tried to look over her shoulder to see what was coming next, but all she could see were the other Jedi Knights trying to do the same thing.
"You don't have to tell me where to find the Jeedai base," he went on. "Just admit there is one."
The screaming started again. Jaina turned to Eryl, a human female on one side of her, looking at her questioningly. Eryl had gotten to experience a neural tail shock, something Tekli and Cilghal hadn't found before this, so she was a little slow in understanding what Jaina was asking via facial expression. She would know when they had crossed over enemy lines, but by the shake of her head, they still weren't there yet. Once they were they could put an end to this. And they all really wanted to get there.
Duman Yaght was still trying to coax some answers out of Ulaha, and when he wasn't getting them, he said, "Give me your hand. I want to tell you about the neuropoison." One thing they did know about the voxyn was that the spines on their backs were coated with a powerful neuropoison, and while they'd all been given antivenom before they set out, they didn't actually know whether it would work. And then there was exactly what the Yuuzhan Vong was going on about now: "Your skin is so thin, and the tiniest puncture will inject the poison. Our shapers claim the effect is not the same on all species. Some fall into convulsions and sink into an endless sleep of pain. Others weaken over many hours, slowly growing so feeble they can no longer breathe or swallow. Some drown in their own saliva."
It was clear that Ulaha was terrified, and moreso through the bond they were all sharing. Jaina was terrified for her. She wanted her to admit the existence of Eclipse. They'd overtake the ship soon, and if Ulaha had to survive neuropoison along with her previous injuries on top of everything she'd been put through, giving up the information was worth saving her life. Once she'd thought that, she began feeling the agreement of the rest of the group.
"Bighead, you must think carefully before you answer. This may be your last chance. Is there a Jeedai base?"
Jaina willed her to tell him, just tell him and it'd be someone else's turn and it could stop.
"You know... the answer," Ulaha gasped.
"I am sorry, Bighead. That is not good enough."
Jaina pushed another Say it! at her, and finally Ulaha said, "Yes!"
"Yes what?" Duman Yaght asked.
"Yes, there is a Jedi base!" Jaina yelled, unable to take it anymore. "She admitted it! Now let her rest."
On her other side, Alema hissed, "Jaina, be quiet! He's trying to break-"
Alema didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before one of the other Vong warriors cracked an amphistaff over her head, knocking her out. Jaina hadn't meant for that to happen. That'd been her fault.
On orders, the warrior tossed a small beetle on the floor beside Jaina's wrists and ankles, and the blorash jelly that had been holding her to the floor slid away from her, freeing her to get at the beetles instead. Once she was loose, the warrior yanked her to her feet, turning her around to show her Duman Yaght holding Ulaha's hand over the spines on the voxyn's back. He studied Jaina for a moment and asked, "You think I do not keep my word?"
"That remains to be seen," Jaina said, eyeing Ulaha's hand.
He didn't seem to know what to do with the challenge coming from a prisoner, but then he smirked. "Very well. You are the one in control here."
That gave her a bad feeling right there, but Ulaha was released, and even placed on her back to rest instead of in the same position everyone else had to deal with. "The Bith may rest and heal," Duman Yaght said. "And you will determine how long."
She felt sick, and felt the others lending her their strength through the Force. It was her turn again, and she'd challenged him. This was going to be worse than before, and she'd hardly lasted at all that time. She didn't think he'd let the voxyn kill her, but she wasn't exactly sure she would be going back to her spot in the line in one piece. But thanks to everyone else, she was able to keep up the act, saying, "I hope you don't expect me to thank you," once she'd shakily made her way over to him.
He grabbed her by the back of the neck and said, "No need," before shoving her in front of the voxyn's head. Despite her assurance that she wasn't dead yet, she was still fighting against becoming petrified and she started to kneel like before. He kept his grip on her, though, keeping her from doing so. "That is not what I was thinking," he said, and pulled her over to where her brothers were trapped to the floor. "Choose."
"What?" she asked, stunned. "Choose what?"
"You are the one in control, Jaina Solo. Who will be next?" As he spoke, he delivered a kidney kick to each that made her wince in sympathy. "Your brother, or your twin."
"They're both my brothers," she said. She hadn't even realized the Vong knew she and Jacen were twins, but it didn't register that maybe that mattered. "And I choose neither. I choose me."
"That is not your choice. You must choose Anakin or Jacen," Duman Yaght said, with another kick to both boys. "Choose one, or I will be forced to return Ulaha to the breaking. The warmaster knows of her wound, so no one will think anything of it should she happen to die. You are the master now, Jaina Solo."
In true Jaina fashion, she would have let that surge of anger she felt let her follow through to attack him for that, but the feeling she got from her brothers stopped her short. They were both offering themselves to be chosen, and they both honestly thought they were the better one to do it because of their place in the group. It still wasn't as easy being the one asked to make the decision.
"Your choice?"
"You can't ask that," said Jaina. When asked certain questions in Ethics class, she'd always been able to say that she would be able to do what was best for the mission, that bonds shouldn't matter more than the greater good. Yet when faced with it, she was the one saying, "I can't choose."
"No?" His hand tightened on the back of he neck, and he started to pull her away. "A pity for the Bith, then."
Anakin tried to turn back towards her. "Jaina, you can choose. You can choose me." And when he said it, he made it clear that he was giving her an order.
"Anakin-" Jacen started.
"Be quiet, Jacen," Anakin said, still watching his sister. "Choose."
Helpfully, Duman Yaght said, "The Bith will probably die anyway, you know."
Which was exactly why Jaina couldn't let them keep working on Ulaha. She'd take it herself in a second, and would have, and maybe she was. But she knew when to follow orders, even if she had to close her eyes when she said, "Anakin. Take Anakin."
And for that, Jaina was forced to stand and watch as Anakin was fastened to the floor in front of the voxyn. For fifteen minutes- it seemed like much longer- she had to watch her little brother tortured on her order. She didn't think she'd be turning back from the wall to see what was happening ever again.
Eventually Duman Yaght even said, "He takes pain well, your brother. Perhaps we try something new, yes?" With a command to the voxyn, the animal obediently held a foot over Anakin's back. They'd also discovered the retroviruses contained in their claws, and yes, these were nasty little creatures. "Is that fear in your eyes, Jaina Solo? Then there is no need to tell you about the fevers. You know what will become of your brother if he is scratched."
"You wouldn't disappoint your priests. Not when they have promised you a place at their sacrifices," Jaina said. He probably shouldn't have bragged about that to her, not that she was entirely confident in her words.
"True, but think of my place if I could tell them in which region the Jeedai base is located," he said. "I would be only a few tiers behind the warmaster, close enough that you could see the gratitude in my eyes."
The defiance she felt wasn't just hers. That was Anakin. "You'll just have to watch from the back," she replied.
Duman Yaght clenched at the back of her neck, demanding, "You think I won't do this?"
He whistled, and on command the voxyn dragged a claw down Anakin's back. Jaina had no idea how he still wasn't screaming. She wanted to.
"You overestimate your brother's value," the commander went on. "The priests will be happy as long as I return with you and Jacen. You two are the twins."
Before Jaina could wonder what the big deal was about that, a guard returned to the room. The voxyn was secured to the floor with the blorash jelly, and Anakin was moved just out of reach, one foot stuck to the ground. "What are you preparing, a stare-down?" she asked.
Duman Yaght smiled. "In a manner of speaking, yes."
The door guard allowed in a tree, about three meters tall. Given the way everything the Vong used tended to be alive, it wasn't too much of a surprise that it could walk on its own roots. Jaina might have found it funny in any other situation, but she was too worried about what it was going to do to Anakin. The tree got seven meters away from the voxyn before the thing went nuts. Before the voxyn would have only attacked on command, but it was going crazy now, trying to tear itself free in order to get at it. The tree continued moving, and when it got closer, Jaina felt everything else just blink out. She was confused until she was able to see the lizard-like creature clinging to the back of the tree, trying to keep away from the voxyn.
"A ysalamiri," she said. She hated those things. They could create a sort of bubble, cutting everyone and everything off from the Force. It was a strange deaf, dumb and blind feeling that Jaina had never liked, especially not now. "What are you going to do with that?"
"An interesting question." Duman Yaght nodded to the door guard and said, "Show her."
The Yuuzhan Vong guard pulled the ysalamiri from the tree, and not without a fight. The voxyn got even wilder as it tried to break free and get at the terrified creature that was now being placed on Anakin's bloody back. "The shapers cannot understand why, but ysalamiri drive voxyn mad," Duman Yaght went on. "The voxyn lose their natural cunning. In experiments similar to this, I have seen then tearing off their own legs to get the ysalamiri."
"Your point?" Jaina asked.
"You know my point. Sooner or later, the voxyn will stop trying to eat its problem and kill," he said. "In what region will we find the Jeedai base? Take all the time you wish to answer. I'm in no hurry."
She hadn't realized it till now. This wasn't him just responding to a challenge and putting her in her place. This was part of the breaking. And she was going to break. Already had. Eyes still on her brother, she asked, "You'll release Anakin if I answer?"
"If that is what you wish. You are the one controlling things."
"The Core," Jaina answered. It was technically true. They still wouldn't find Eclipse that way. "That should come as no surprise."
"It confirms what the readers have surmised," said Duman Yaght, and with a nod from him, the guard pulled the ysalamiri from Anakin's back and tossed it to the voxyn. "Never deny a killer her reward."
"I'll keep that in mind," Jaina said. Once the ysalamiri was dead, she could feel the Force return to her, along with the support from the others through their bond. "What about my brother?"
"Of course. Just tell me who is next."
This was worse than last time. So much worse. "Me."
"Not possible."
"It's my only answer."
"Then Anakin will stay. Perhaps he will die."
"You said you would release him," Jaina shot back. "I thought Yuuzhan Vong were honorable."
That was a challenge, and Duman Yaght saw it as such. "Return to him to his place and bring the Bith."
Jaina didn't have time to despair over Ulaha, because about half the team was doing it for her. Jacen was directing one feeling at her, and that was Anakin's. He had a plan. She didn't know what, but she had to trust him.
On his way back to his place, Anakin, despite everything that had just happened, pulled away from the guards, rushing for Ulaha and whispering something in her ear when she woke. He didn't have long to speak, though, before one of the guards smacked him with an amphistaff, and then he stopped moving. They dragged his unconscious form back to his spot against the wall, securing him, and brought Ulaha to take his place. Looking at her, Jaina didn't really think she was going to be able to take it.
"The choice is yours, Jaina," said Duman Yaght. "A name or a life."
She didn't want to give the name she knew she had to, but she couldn't let Ulaha go through it again. It would kill her. "This is the last name," Jaina said, looking down.
"If you wish it so," he said, a mocking tone to his voice.
Ulaha spoke up, pleading, "You mustn't, Jaina... Don't let them use me-"
"The name, Jaina," Duman Yaght barked, cutting her off. "Who is next?"
Ulaha turned to Jacen, begging, "Give me strength."
The warrior jerked Ulaha to her feet, and with a surge of just that strength, the same Bith girl who hadn't been able to stand on her own two feet a second ago was pushing her own hand down on top of the voxyn's venom-filled spikes. The guard prevented her from pushing her hand down all the way, but instead of giving up, she grabbed his coufee from him and sliced him across the throat with it. Not done yet, she swung the dying Vong around to catch the voxyn's striking tail against his back, breaking off the poisonous barb on the vonduun crab armor he was wearing.
As Duman Yaght called for more guards, who came rushing in moments later, Jacen dropped the meld in order to focus on assuring the voxyn that the Jedi weren't the enemies, that the Vong were. The gamble worked, and as the voxyn attacked one of the Vong guards, Ulaha took the opportunity to drive the coufee between the animal's eyes. Of course, even voxyn blood was toxic, turning to fumes that caused Ulaha to collapse before she got two steps away.
She let the guards drag her away from the toxin cloud, and then she pulled herself away from them, getting back to her feet. Considering what she'd been through, she shouldn't have been able to do it. Even the Vong were astounded to see it.
Jaina had no idea what had just happened, but she was actually able to smirk about it. "Perhaps you have another voxyn to amuse us?"
Duman Yaght didn't have the reaction she'd been expecting. Namely, he smiled. "That would be foolish, don't you think? I see why the warmaster is so determined to destroy you Jeedai." He shoved Jaina into the arms of two waiting guards and said, "Know that we are done playing, Jaina Solo. If you try anything now, the consequences will be fatal."
"Perhaps," Jaina said, smiling back at him. "But not for us."
There was some shock through the battle meld at her words, but looking at Duman Yaght's face, it was the right thing to say. And she was able to keep the confident facade up until she was sent back to her place against the wall, and then she thought she'd never stop shaking.
Next.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay, and in case you didn't see it up there, torture warning. Reason #1 this book goes in my freezer. And yes I am messing with my own messed up timeline so y'all don't get 10 posts in a day. Dialogue taken straight from Star By Star by Troy Denning, but my version's shorter, I promise.]
They'd known going into it that they were going to be facing this. Thanks to Danni Quee and Tahiri, they knew the kind of thinga that happened in custody. The Vong liked to break their hostages, crush their will down to nothing, and they took special pride in being able to do it to Jedi. And as much the meld was supposed to help, it was hard. They were lined up against a wall of red yorik coral, wrists bound to the floor by blorash jelly between their knees, and the torture happened behind them where they could hear everything. One of the Vong, a male commander named Duman Yaght, was in control of the voxyn in the room behind them. He would put them in front of it, face to face, ask questions, go on and on about the things that would happen to them if he allowed it to. Jaina had been asked one question before the voxyn screeched in her face, which led to the discovery that that screech could knock a person unconscious. Between that and the burned skin on her back from the voxyn's acidic drool, she really was not looking forward to going through that again.
Meanwhile, Ulaha never seemed to stop going through it. When her screams stopped, Jaina sort of hoped she'd passed out. They'd return her to her place for at least a little reprieve and move on to someone else. Any one of them would have willingly gone in her place. Unfortunately for Ulaha, Duman Yaght was aware that she was still conscious. "Growing accustomed to the drool, are we, Bighead? We shall have to try something new."
Jaina tried to look over her shoulder to see what was coming next, but all she could see were the other Jedi Knights trying to do the same thing.
"You don't have to tell me where to find the Jeedai base," he went on. "Just admit there is one."
The screaming started again. Jaina turned to Eryl, a human female on one side of her, looking at her questioningly. Eryl had gotten to experience a neural tail shock, something Tekli and Cilghal hadn't found before this, so she was a little slow in understanding what Jaina was asking via facial expression. She would know when they had crossed over enemy lines, but by the shake of her head, they still weren't there yet. Once they were they could put an end to this. And they all really wanted to get there.
Duman Yaght was still trying to coax some answers out of Ulaha, and when he wasn't getting them, he said, "Give me your hand. I want to tell you about the neuropoison." One thing they did know about the voxyn was that the spines on their backs were coated with a powerful neuropoison, and while they'd all been given antivenom before they set out, they didn't actually know whether it would work. And then there was exactly what the Yuuzhan Vong was going on about now: "Your skin is so thin, and the tiniest puncture will inject the poison. Our shapers claim the effect is not the same on all species. Some fall into convulsions and sink into an endless sleep of pain. Others weaken over many hours, slowly growing so feeble they can no longer breathe or swallow. Some drown in their own saliva."
It was clear that Ulaha was terrified, and moreso through the bond they were all sharing. Jaina was terrified for her. She wanted her to admit the existence of Eclipse. They'd overtake the ship soon, and if Ulaha had to survive neuropoison along with her previous injuries on top of everything she'd been put through, giving up the information was worth saving her life. Once she'd thought that, she began feeling the agreement of the rest of the group.
"Bighead, you must think carefully before you answer. This may be your last chance. Is there a Jeedai base?"
Jaina willed her to tell him, just tell him and it'd be someone else's turn and it could stop.
"You know... the answer," Ulaha gasped.
"I am sorry, Bighead. That is not good enough."
Jaina pushed another Say it! at her, and finally Ulaha said, "Yes!"
"Yes what?" Duman Yaght asked.
"Yes, there is a Jedi base!" Jaina yelled, unable to take it anymore. "She admitted it! Now let her rest."
On her other side, Alema hissed, "Jaina, be quiet! He's trying to break-"
Alema didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before one of the other Vong warriors cracked an amphistaff over her head, knocking her out. Jaina hadn't meant for that to happen. That'd been her fault.
On orders, the warrior tossed a small beetle on the floor beside Jaina's wrists and ankles, and the blorash jelly that had been holding her to the floor slid away from her, freeing her to get at the beetles instead. Once she was loose, the warrior yanked her to her feet, turning her around to show her Duman Yaght holding Ulaha's hand over the spines on the voxyn's back. He studied Jaina for a moment and asked, "You think I do not keep my word?"
"That remains to be seen," Jaina said, eyeing Ulaha's hand.
He didn't seem to know what to do with the challenge coming from a prisoner, but then he smirked. "Very well. You are the one in control here."
That gave her a bad feeling right there, but Ulaha was released, and even placed on her back to rest instead of in the same position everyone else had to deal with. "The Bith may rest and heal," Duman Yaght said. "And you will determine how long."
She felt sick, and felt the others lending her their strength through the Force. It was her turn again, and she'd challenged him. This was going to be worse than before, and she'd hardly lasted at all that time. She didn't think he'd let the voxyn kill her, but she wasn't exactly sure she would be going back to her spot in the line in one piece. But thanks to everyone else, she was able to keep up the act, saying, "I hope you don't expect me to thank you," once she'd shakily made her way over to him.
He grabbed her by the back of the neck and said, "No need," before shoving her in front of the voxyn's head. Despite her assurance that she wasn't dead yet, she was still fighting against becoming petrified and she started to kneel like before. He kept his grip on her, though, keeping her from doing so. "That is not what I was thinking," he said, and pulled her over to where her brothers were trapped to the floor. "Choose."
"What?" she asked, stunned. "Choose what?"
"You are the one in control, Jaina Solo. Who will be next?" As he spoke, he delivered a kidney kick to each that made her wince in sympathy. "Your brother, or your twin."
"They're both my brothers," she said. She hadn't even realized the Vong knew she and Jacen were twins, but it didn't register that maybe that mattered. "And I choose neither. I choose me."
"That is not your choice. You must choose Anakin or Jacen," Duman Yaght said, with another kick to both boys. "Choose one, or I will be forced to return Ulaha to the breaking. The warmaster knows of her wound, so no one will think anything of it should she happen to die. You are the master now, Jaina Solo."
In true Jaina fashion, she would have let that surge of anger she felt let her follow through to attack him for that, but the feeling she got from her brothers stopped her short. They were both offering themselves to be chosen, and they both honestly thought they were the better one to do it because of their place in the group. It still wasn't as easy being the one asked to make the decision.
"Your choice?"
"You can't ask that," said Jaina. When asked certain questions in Ethics class, she'd always been able to say that she would be able to do what was best for the mission, that bonds shouldn't matter more than the greater good. Yet when faced with it, she was the one saying, "I can't choose."
"No?" His hand tightened on the back of he neck, and he started to pull her away. "A pity for the Bith, then."
Anakin tried to turn back towards her. "Jaina, you can choose. You can choose me." And when he said it, he made it clear that he was giving her an order.
"Anakin-" Jacen started.
"Be quiet, Jacen," Anakin said, still watching his sister. "Choose."
Helpfully, Duman Yaght said, "The Bith will probably die anyway, you know."
Which was exactly why Jaina couldn't let them keep working on Ulaha. She'd take it herself in a second, and would have, and maybe she was. But she knew when to follow orders, even if she had to close her eyes when she said, "Anakin. Take Anakin."
And for that, Jaina was forced to stand and watch as Anakin was fastened to the floor in front of the voxyn. For fifteen minutes- it seemed like much longer- she had to watch her little brother tortured on her order. She didn't think she'd be turning back from the wall to see what was happening ever again.
Eventually Duman Yaght even said, "He takes pain well, your brother. Perhaps we try something new, yes?" With a command to the voxyn, the animal obediently held a foot over Anakin's back. They'd also discovered the retroviruses contained in their claws, and yes, these were nasty little creatures. "Is that fear in your eyes, Jaina Solo? Then there is no need to tell you about the fevers. You know what will become of your brother if he is scratched."
"You wouldn't disappoint your priests. Not when they have promised you a place at their sacrifices," Jaina said. He probably shouldn't have bragged about that to her, not that she was entirely confident in her words.
"True, but think of my place if I could tell them in which region the Jeedai base is located," he said. "I would be only a few tiers behind the warmaster, close enough that you could see the gratitude in my eyes."
The defiance she felt wasn't just hers. That was Anakin. "You'll just have to watch from the back," she replied.
Duman Yaght clenched at the back of her neck, demanding, "You think I won't do this?"
He whistled, and on command the voxyn dragged a claw down Anakin's back. Jaina had no idea how he still wasn't screaming. She wanted to.
"You overestimate your brother's value," the commander went on. "The priests will be happy as long as I return with you and Jacen. You two are the twins."
Before Jaina could wonder what the big deal was about that, a guard returned to the room. The voxyn was secured to the floor with the blorash jelly, and Anakin was moved just out of reach, one foot stuck to the ground. "What are you preparing, a stare-down?" she asked.
Duman Yaght smiled. "In a manner of speaking, yes."
The door guard allowed in a tree, about three meters tall. Given the way everything the Vong used tended to be alive, it wasn't too much of a surprise that it could walk on its own roots. Jaina might have found it funny in any other situation, but she was too worried about what it was going to do to Anakin. The tree got seven meters away from the voxyn before the thing went nuts. Before the voxyn would have only attacked on command, but it was going crazy now, trying to tear itself free in order to get at it. The tree continued moving, and when it got closer, Jaina felt everything else just blink out. She was confused until she was able to see the lizard-like creature clinging to the back of the tree, trying to keep away from the voxyn.
"A ysalamiri," she said. She hated those things. They could create a sort of bubble, cutting everyone and everything off from the Force. It was a strange deaf, dumb and blind feeling that Jaina had never liked, especially not now. "What are you going to do with that?"
"An interesting question." Duman Yaght nodded to the door guard and said, "Show her."
The Yuuzhan Vong guard pulled the ysalamiri from the tree, and not without a fight. The voxyn got even wilder as it tried to break free and get at the terrified creature that was now being placed on Anakin's bloody back. "The shapers cannot understand why, but ysalamiri drive voxyn mad," Duman Yaght went on. "The voxyn lose their natural cunning. In experiments similar to this, I have seen then tearing off their own legs to get the ysalamiri."
"Your point?" Jaina asked.
"You know my point. Sooner or later, the voxyn will stop trying to eat its problem and kill," he said. "In what region will we find the Jeedai base? Take all the time you wish to answer. I'm in no hurry."
She hadn't realized it till now. This wasn't him just responding to a challenge and putting her in her place. This was part of the breaking. And she was going to break. Already had. Eyes still on her brother, she asked, "You'll release Anakin if I answer?"
"If that is what you wish. You are the one controlling things."
"The Core," Jaina answered. It was technically true. They still wouldn't find Eclipse that way. "That should come as no surprise."
"It confirms what the readers have surmised," said Duman Yaght, and with a nod from him, the guard pulled the ysalamiri from Anakin's back and tossed it to the voxyn. "Never deny a killer her reward."
"I'll keep that in mind," Jaina said. Once the ysalamiri was dead, she could feel the Force return to her, along with the support from the others through their bond. "What about my brother?"
"Of course. Just tell me who is next."
This was worse than last time. So much worse. "Me."
"Not possible."
"It's my only answer."
"Then Anakin will stay. Perhaps he will die."
"You said you would release him," Jaina shot back. "I thought Yuuzhan Vong were honorable."
That was a challenge, and Duman Yaght saw it as such. "Return to him to his place and bring the Bith."
Jaina didn't have time to despair over Ulaha, because about half the team was doing it for her. Jacen was directing one feeling at her, and that was Anakin's. He had a plan. She didn't know what, but she had to trust him.
On his way back to his place, Anakin, despite everything that had just happened, pulled away from the guards, rushing for Ulaha and whispering something in her ear when she woke. He didn't have long to speak, though, before one of the guards smacked him with an amphistaff, and then he stopped moving. They dragged his unconscious form back to his spot against the wall, securing him, and brought Ulaha to take his place. Looking at her, Jaina didn't really think she was going to be able to take it.
"The choice is yours, Jaina," said Duman Yaght. "A name or a life."
She didn't want to give the name she knew she had to, but she couldn't let Ulaha go through it again. It would kill her. "This is the last name," Jaina said, looking down.
"If you wish it so," he said, a mocking tone to his voice.
Ulaha spoke up, pleading, "You mustn't, Jaina... Don't let them use me-"
"The name, Jaina," Duman Yaght barked, cutting her off. "Who is next?"
Ulaha turned to Jacen, begging, "Give me strength."
The warrior jerked Ulaha to her feet, and with a surge of just that strength, the same Bith girl who hadn't been able to stand on her own two feet a second ago was pushing her own hand down on top of the voxyn's venom-filled spikes. The guard prevented her from pushing her hand down all the way, but instead of giving up, she grabbed his coufee from him and sliced him across the throat with it. Not done yet, she swung the dying Vong around to catch the voxyn's striking tail against his back, breaking off the poisonous barb on the vonduun crab armor he was wearing.
As Duman Yaght called for more guards, who came rushing in moments later, Jacen dropped the meld in order to focus on assuring the voxyn that the Jedi weren't the enemies, that the Vong were. The gamble worked, and as the voxyn attacked one of the Vong guards, Ulaha took the opportunity to drive the coufee between the animal's eyes. Of course, even voxyn blood was toxic, turning to fumes that caused Ulaha to collapse before she got two steps away.
She let the guards drag her away from the toxin cloud, and then she pulled herself away from them, getting back to her feet. Considering what she'd been through, she shouldn't have been able to do it. Even the Vong were astounded to see it.
Jaina had no idea what had just happened, but she was actually able to smirk about it. "Perhaps you have another voxyn to amuse us?"
Duman Yaght didn't have the reaction she'd been expecting. Namely, he smiled. "That would be foolish, don't you think? I see why the warmaster is so determined to destroy you Jeedai." He shoved Jaina into the arms of two waiting guards and said, "Know that we are done playing, Jaina Solo. If you try anything now, the consequences will be fatal."
"Perhaps," Jaina said, smiling back at him. "But not for us."
There was some shock through the battle meld at her words, but looking at Duman Yaght's face, it was the right thing to say. And she was able to keep the confident facade up until she was sent back to her place against the wall, and then she thought she'd never stop shaking.
Next.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay, and in case you didn't see it up there, torture warning. Reason #1 this book goes in my freezer. And yes I am messing with my own messed up timeline so y'all don't get 10 posts in a day. Dialogue taken straight from Star By Star by Troy Denning, but my version's shorter, I promise.]