Dawn of Forever, Part XXIX

Romal returned to where Sebastian was looking over the map of the Delta Quadrant. "What did the Romulans say?" Sebastian asked, eyes still on the expanding green blob that represented the Vong army.

"I couldn't get through," Romal said. "There's a jamming field; the planet's been cut off."

Sebastian tore his eyes away from the map. "What are you talking about? The Vong aren't anywhere near the system yet."

"It's all over the holonet as well," Romal said. "There was lots of coverage of the event once the Council came out and announced their intentions, but now none of them are reporting in either. People are wondering if the Empire's behind it."

"Shall we continue our plans?" the Borg Queen asked.

Sebastian nodded, but he was visibly distracted. "Why would someone be jamming them?"

"Maybe the Romulans didn't want the reports leaking out," Romal suggested. "They're paranoid, after all."

"If that's the case, why let them land in the first place," Sebastian said. "And they've cut themselves off as well. This doesn't make any sense." A horrible thought crossed his mind. "Unless someone wants them cut off... wants them to be absorbed."

"Alixus?" Romal offered.

"She was supposed to have died on Chandrilla, although that could have been faked. But I'm thinking perhaps the Oracle. She's used the Vong as a tool before, this could be part of a larger plan." A chill ran down his spine at the thought.

"But we are still going to Vidik, yes?" the Queen asked.

"Yes," Sebastian said. "It's all the more important that we go now, since I doubt the Romulans will even know they need to evacuate thanks to the jamming." He tapped his lips as he looked at the map. "Jamming field's going to interfere with transporters, right?"

"Yes," the Queen said. "Though we should be able to locate and eliminate the source of the jamming before the Vong arrive, assuming it's from a hostile force."

"Good," Sebastian said with a nod. "Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of time for the Romulans to get nervous and maybe do something foolish."

"Well let's just land and go tell them what's going on," Romal said.

"This is a twenty-eight cubic kilometer vessel," the Queen said. "It cannot land."

"I mean a shuttle or landing craft."

"We have no need for those," the Queen said.

"Didn't you ever consider the possibility that you would?" Romal said in mild exasperation.

"No," the Queen said. "Our transport technology is capable of penetrating virtually any naturally occurring boundary. Any artificial boundaries can be eliminated."

"But not soon enough!"

"Time has never been a factor for the Borg," the Queen said. "Victory was always inevitable."

"Okay," Sebastian said, "there's another way. I'll take the suit and freefall in, no problem. I'll explain things to the Romulan leadership while you locate the source of the jamming, assuming it's not them doing it."

"But you'll be cut off," Romal pointed out. "You'll be alone down there. There's no way the Borg can contact you, nevermind supply droids to back you up. It could be dangerous."

"Please, Romal, I'm a Jedi. What do I have to worry about?"

The stolen H-Wing landed outside the city, and Molly powered down the systems to avoid detection for as long as possible. In the confusion generated by the jamming field, they'd been able to land, but an Imperial vessel on the planet was going to tip off the Romulans too soon. "We'll need another ship," Ben decided. "A shuttle should suffice."

"The H-Wing is more maneuverable than any shuttle," Molly pointed out.

"But it will attract attention," Ben said. "With all the local traffic, one more shuttle won't be missed, but an Imperial fighter lifting off after our assassination will. Also, if the Romulans do discover this ship, they may plant a tracking device on board. We don't want to lead them back to our base of operations."

Molly considered it, then nodded in agreement. "It will take time to find a suitable ship," she pointed out.

"We have time," Ben said, and he exited the ship and looked over the planet Vidik. Something itched at the edge of his senses, but he couldn't understand what it was. He let it be once Molly was out of the ship; there may be time, but that was no excuse to squander it.

The Oracle watched Ben and Molly walk towards the city on her monitor, but turned away as the door opened. Annika was brought inside by one of the Sith students. "Leave us," the Oracle ordered, and soon Annika was alone with her former captain. "It's all in place, Seven," the Oracle said. "Ben Skywalker's already there, Sebastian is on his way, all alone." She pointed to the countdown on the central monitor. "I'd use an hourglass if I was inclined towards romanticism, but I'm not. Besides, I know how you Borg like to quantify things." Annika looked up at the clock; there was less than an hour left.

"I won't help you, captain," Annika said. "I can't."

The Oracle nodded slightly, looking introspective. "Then watch all you love turn to dust."

"Why?" Annika demanded. "Why do this to me, captain?!"

"Sebastian Skywalker, in one form or another, is about to be destroyed," the Oracle said. "You don't want to be there for him at the end?"

"I'm not there, I'm here! And I'm helpless!"

"Not helpless, Seven," the Oracle said in a tone of sympathy. "There's a way out. I've told you, you can stop this, you can save your only son." She turned away. "But the clock is ticking, Seven," she said as she gestured towards the countdown. "Perhaps you will reconsider this self-destructive decision of yours."

"I can't help you!" Annika said.

"Time will tell," the Oracle said. She gestured, and one of the monitors changed; Annika stared.

It was a quarter century ago, on the world of Tatooine. Annika sat in a chair, a child nursing at her breast while she smiled down at him. "Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea," she sang quietly. "And frolicked in the autumn mists in a land called Honalee..." Tears ran down the face of the real Annika while her jaw trembled. After a short while, the baby fell asleep, and she pulled him away a little as she covered herself. "All for you, my little one," she said softly. "My little... my little miracle..." Annika covered her eyes. "Sleep well, Bastian... mama will always be watching over you..."

The Vong invasion force raced at near-impossible speeds through the depths of the Milky Way. As they moved, they overran the helpless worlds before them. Those that had stayed with the Empire found themselves without defenders. Those that had broken away found their meager defenses inadequate. Nom Anor observed them from the center of operations that the new Vong creature had devised. He felt comfortable again, surrounded by proper tools instead of blasphemous technology like he had had for so long.

And soon, his foresight and planning was going to be the key to Vong victory, and he would finally receive the recognition he deserved for his years of work and sacrifice, and no doubt a place of honor on the field of battle. And the next step was on Vidik.

Ben examined the area carefully. It was perfect. The Vidik Council members were less than half a kilometer away from this docking bay. They could dispatch them and make a quick escape back here and be part of the planet's traffic in no time. They walked casually towards the facility, but Ben hesitated as they neared the square. There was that feeling again, and he didn't like it. He ground his teeth, then turned and entered the docking bay. A guard or clerk or some other insignificant piece of filth protested as Ben walked past, but Ben made a gesture and told him it was fine. He'd rather crush his windpipe, but they couldn't tip their hand just yet. Molly accessed a terminal and sliced her way in, looking over the information on all the docked ships. "This looks like a good one," she said. "A mini-yacht belonging to the Romulan ambassador. Quick, maneuverable, transporters, cloak, should be perfect for us."

Ben gave a noise of approval, noted the location, and led the way towards where the ship was waiting. He looked it over; there were guards, but he noted this as the minor detail that it was. But what drew a smile to his face was the flurry of activity around it. Word of the Vong's imminent attack must have arrived despite the jamming field, and the Romulan ambassador seemed to be taking no chances. The ship would be prepped and ready to go very soon. He took Molly aside. "Let them finish, then we kill the guards and the crew, then take care of the Council." And get me off of this horrible little planet, he added in his mind.

The Borg were helping Sebastian into his suit while Romal watched. "You know, the Romulans may not take kindly to this either," he pointed out. "They may fire on you."

"It can't be worse than what the Vong tried," Sebastian said.

"You are just asking for irony to show up and prove you wrong, you know that, right?"

"If Vidik had the weapons to shoot me down," Sebastian said, "then we wouldn't need to worry about rescuing them in the first place, because it would require lots and lots of precision guns." He put his lightsaber in the shielded compartment on his suit's hip. "I've done this lots of time, Romal, with inferior equipment, into heavily fortified Vong territory. This is going to be a walk in the park."

"Just remember what I said," Romal said. "You're going to be without backup until the Borg find the source of that jamming signal. You run into any problems, and you're going to be on your own, with no way back."

"Quit worrying so much, you sound like a Ferengi."

"Look, I don't want to be the only non-Borg on this ship, okay?" Romal said. "Not after what happened. Something happens to you, and I'm the one up the creek."

"Oh, thanks," Sebastian said. "I thought this was for my sake."

"Look, don't get me wrong, you're a nice guy and all. But all this stuff is way outside my comfort zone. I thought I'd be pushing papers, not trying to negotiate with the Romulans not to blow me up."

"Relax, Romal," Sebastian said as they fitted the helmet in place. "Nothing's going to go wrong. For me, falling out of space into the atmosphere of a planet is routine."

The Oracle looked at the countdown, then at Annika. "Tick tock, Seven." Annika didn't answer, she was too busy chewing her lip. "You really love your son so little that you'd stand here and do nothing to save him?" She shook her head as Annika just stared at the monitors without speaking. "Perhaps there's still too much Borg in you to care about another human being."

The Annika on the screen was in the hospital bed, the Doctor nearby. "The thought of my baby in the hands of the Vong..." she said, weeping. "I would do ANYTHING to save him, Doctor. No matter what!" The real Annika was crying almost as much.

"There's still time," the Oracle said softly. "Still time to spare your only son..."

Annika looked from the recording to the image of Sebastian, getting ready to leap out into space. She swallowed. He'll always be your baby to you, Annika, she admitted. But he's a grown man now. There comes a point, however much it hurts, where you have to let him make his own choices, to live his life like you were allowed to live yours. How can you expect the peoples of the galaxies to believe in him when his own mother won't?

Ben didn't even bother with his lightsabers as he strode around the corner towards the guards. He gestured at the one who stepped forward to challenge him, and he began choking. Force lightning caught two others, lifting them off their feet. The fourth fired his blaster rifle, but Ben held out his hand and absorbed the bolt's energy. He gestured with his other hand and a tool flew at hurricane speeds and stabbed the man through the chest. The two guards that had been knocked down tried to fight him off, but Molly was already there, putting them down while Ben strode up the ramp into the ship. More guards were around. He unhooked his lightsaber, lit it, and stabbed to his left, all in one motion. He deflected two bolts back at their targets without looking while he gestured at another guard, who dropped clutching at his throat. It was quick, dull slaughter. Molly was behind him in a moment, but the guards had already all been killed. "Now the pilots and crew," he said to her. "Let's get this over with."

The Borg fleet dropped out of hyperspace around the planet Vidik. "How long before you find the source of the jamming field?" Sebastian asked.

"Unknown, but it will not take longer than an hour," the Queen informed him.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do in the meantime." Sebastian steeled himself. "Launch."

Sebastian flew out into space on a carefully calculated vector. He should land just outside the building where the Vidik Council was meeting, and be able to quickly explain the situation. And he had the advantage of not being shot at like he usually was. However, there was one thing he hadn't counted on, which was panic. The people -whether deliberately or because the Romulans hadn't found out yet- hadn't known about the Vong, but the arrival of hundreds of Borg cubes obviously wasn't something that could go by without notice.

The air traffic was as busy as Chandrilla on a bad day, and several kilometers up he was forced to cut his parachutes to avoid being struck by a passing shuttle. He kicked up his thrusters to slow the descent, but there wasn't going to be enough fuel for the entire trip. The ground was approaching quickly; it would take all his concentration to pull this off right. Sebastian eased into it-

"Sebastian," the Borg Queen said. "We've-" But Sebastian missed the rest of the statement as he plowed through a duracrete pillar, putting him into a spin so that he dropped like a stone onto the ground. "Are you all right?"

Sebastian coughed, then activated his comm unit. "You took care of the jamming signal," he said. "Nice- *cough* nice timing."

"It was poorly hidden."

Sebastian pulled himself to his feet. Well, this should convince the Romulans to trust us, he thought darkly, looking at the rubble. With the field back up, various beings recording and broadcasting events were already in the area, and since the news of Vidik being cut off had been all over the holonet, practically the whole galaxy was watching to see what was going on. Hopefully this wouldn't look too bad on the holonet. He looked around at the debris left by his collision, and the buildings it had fallen on, and shook his head. There was no possible way this wasn't going to look bad.

On one monitor, Sebastian, still in his suit, took up his lightsaber and began racing through the city. On another, Ben killed the last of the crew of the Romulan ship. The Borg fleet hovered over the planet. The Vong ships continued their expansion in the direction of Vidik. In the center of it all, the clock counted down.

0:00:03

0:00:02

0:00:01

The Oracle turned to Annika. "Time's up," she said gravely. "I hope you can live with yourself."

Sebastian froze. He felt the disturbance in the Force. "You?"

Ben stopped. "You!"

"You are deviating from the plan," the Borg Queen said as Sebastian marched off.

"Ben we have a mission to complete," Molly said as Ben climbed down the ramp and strode away.

"I have to stop him," Sebastian said.

"He must be dealt with," Ben said.

"He's too great a threat," Sebastian said.

"He could jeopardize the mission," Ben said.

"You're letting emotion dictate your actions," the Borg Queen said.

"I trust my instincts," Ben said.

"But you're doing this because of your personal feelings," Molly pleaded.

"Of course I am," Sebastian said. "After everything he did, what do you expect? He came after me."

"It was because of him that I was brought here," Ben said.

"He took away everything that mattered to me," Sebastian said.

"He took away all that I had achieved," Ben seethed.

"He took away my center."

"He took away my drive."

"I'll never again hold my wife."

"I'll never again hold that kind of power."

"I'm just a servant of fate now."

"I'm just the Oracle's lackey."

"Fighting because I must-"

"-not because I want to."

"He's the bane of my existence-"

"-I hate him with all my being."

"Light side, dark side-"

"-none of that matters."

"This isn't about the Force-" Sebastian said as he came around the corner.

"-this is about putting an end to this," Ben said, walking down the center of the street.

"For every morning when I awake alone," Sebastian said.

"For every day that I live as someone's slave," Ben said.

"I'm going to make him pay-" Sebastian said.

"-and revenge will be so sweet," Ben said.

"Let me indulge just this once-" Sebastian said as he lit both blades of his lightsaber.

"-and I'll do whatever else is asked of me," Ben said, lighting the two Sith lightsabers.

"And before-"

"-this battle ends-"

"-I-"

"-will see you-"

"-dead."

The two met at the center of the square, and stopped across from one another. Sebastian touched a button on his suit, and it slid off and collapsed around him. Ben gestured, and the mask of Revan flew off his face. This had never been about a Sith and a Jedi, never about sides of the Force or the war, just about two men who despised each other. But it had always been from afar, it had always been a cold and distant thing. There was nothing that stood between them now, nothing but the hate. There were no words for one another, no clever remarks before things began. The anger that boiled in each of them made it impossible, and the only thought in their minds was that spilling the blood of the other might make their lives right again.

Many had the good sense to run, but those who had been recording events turned all their attention to this confrontation. Sebastian, who had raised the Borg into a galactic powerhouse. Ben, who had killed the Emperor in his own court. Across both galaxies, people heard and watched as one of these two men was about to kill the other, and very probably, would completely shift the balance of power in the process.

And with a crash, the battle began.

Go To Part XXX
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